Uranium Traces Found at Syrian Site Bombed by Israel: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has discovered “a significant number of natural uranium particles” at a site believed to be “functionally linked” to the Deir ez-Zor facility, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in 2007, according to a recent confidential report distributed to member states of the agency’s Board of Governors on Monday September first.

While the former Assad government denied any nuclear activity, the recent discovery of chemically processed uranium particles adds to the evidence suggesting the site was involved in undeclared nuclear operations.

The current Syrian government stated it has no information explaining the presence of uranium particles but agreed to cooperate with the IAEA to clarify the matter. The agency plans to conduct further inspections at the Al-Kibar site in Deir ez-Zor to continue its investigation.

On September 6, 2022, the Israeli Ministry of Defense published—for the first time in 15 years—images of its airstrike on the Al-Kibar building in Deir ez-Zor, suspected of being a nuclear reactor developed by the Assad regime.

At the time, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated that a classified 2002 intelligence document had assessed Syria to be running a secret project, which was later identified as a nuclear reactor.

In a tweet, Adraee added: “This is how Israeli jets destroyed the reactor on September 6, 2007, saving the region from a serious threat!”

The Assad regime denied developing any nuclear weapons, claiming the bombed building was a regular military facility. Meanwhile, Washington asserted that Syria had nearly completed the construction of the complex with assistance from North Korean experts.

IAEA inspectors visited the bombed site on June 23, 2008. Then-director Mohamed ElBaradei condemned the Israeli strike and criticized the U.S. for delaying the sharing of intelligence with the agency prior to the attack. He expressed skepticism about finding any evidence and doubted Syria had the technical capacity or fuel to operate a large-scale nuclear facility.

On June 9, 2011, the IAEA referred the case to the UN Security Council on charges of constructing a nuclear reactor, following a closed-door meeting of its Board of Governors. During the session, the U.S. delegate accused the Assad regime of seeking to produce plutonium, which has no peaceful applications. Russia and China opposed the referral, arguing that the matter was moot since the facility had already been destroyed.

For context, Syria possesses an old, declared research reactor that remains under IAEA oversight. Israel had previously bombed and destroyed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor on June 7, 1981, in an operation known as Babylon or Opera.

Syria news report