IAEA Confirms Assad-Era Syria Built Undeclared Nuclear Reactor at Deir ez-Zor

The International Atomic Energy Agency reported to member states on September 2, 2026 that the former Assad government failed to declare nuclear material, facilities, and activities linked to an unfinished reactor at Deir ez-Zor, after inspectors gained new access to sites and records following Assad's December 2024 ouster. The agency confirmed that newly uncovered cooling infrastructure is consistent with a nuclear reactor and identified about 73 metric tons of undeclared natural uranium metal — including roughly 55 tons in fuel-rod form — at a previously undisclosed location, now under IAEA safeguards. The site is linked to the al-Kibar reactor Israel destroyed in a 2007 airstrike, along with a related fuel-fabrication facility. Syria's transitional government notified the IAEA of the site in a July 17 letter and invited inspectors to cooperate on verification; IAEA inspectors visited Deir ez-Zor on August 29 to monitor excavation work.