Syria grants IAEA access to nuclear material sites

Syrian authorities have allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enter and examine sites where nuclear materials were found, officials confirmed on Tuesday. The access follows a voluntary notification that Syria provided to the UN nuclear watchdog on July 17 after several tonnes of nuclear material were discovered at an undisclosed location.

The IAEA said inspection activity has now started at a site in Damascus and at a second site in Deir ez-Zur. Director General Rafael Grossi is leading the agency’s engagement with Syrian authorities as inspectors work to confirm what has been identified and to assess how the material is being stored.

Inspections begin in Damascus and Deir ez-Zur

Officials said the nuclear material currently being assessed Officials said the nuclear material currently being assessed at the sites is considered non-hazardous. Even so, the IAEA has signalled it intends to move the stockpiles under international safeguards, which are designed to reduce the risk of diversion or misuse. The agency’s stated aim is to secure the inventory on a permanent basis. In practice, that typically involves creating verified records of quantities and locations and then applying monitoring and control measures consistent with international safeguards. Disclosure framed as a break from past opacity Officials presented the cooperation as a shift toward greater transparency compared with the period of Assad family rule, when Syria’s nuclear-related activity was widely viewed as opaque. They linked the decision to disclose the discovery to a transition in state control from the ousted regime to today’s authorities.

International Atomic Energy Agency

The renewed inspections also bring added attention to Deir ez-Zur, an area associated with long-running international questions about Syria’s nuclear history. Those concerns have been repeatedly referenced in regional security discussions connected to undeclared nuclear activity.

Deir ez-Zur remains a reference point from 2007

Officials pointed to the historical backdrop of 2007, when a suspected reactor in Deir ez-Zur was destroyed. That episode remains a key marker in discussions about Syria’s earlier nuclear file and the extent of any undeclared activity.

By beginning on-site work in Deir ez-Zur alongside inspections in Damascus, the IAEA is seeking to verify what exists today, how it is stored, and whether the declared information matches on-the-ground findings.

Next steps depend on access and full declarations

Officials said the inspection work is expected to continue over the coming months as the agency verifies the full scope of the undeclared inventory. The announcement did not publicly specify how broad that inventory may be beyond what has already been disclosed.

The pace and outcome of the safeguards effort will depend on continued access for inspectors and on the IAEA’s ability to confirm that all relevant materials and locations have been declared. For the agency, placing the stockpiles under safeguards is aimed at reducing risks associated with unsecured nuclear material in a volatile region.