Did Assad Leave Behind Tonnes of Nuclear Material in Syria?
The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has announced the discovery of several tonnes of nuclear material at a number of locations in Syria. The material is believed to be a legacy of the era of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
According to Al Arabiya, IAEA inspectors said one of the locations where nuclear material was found was reported by the new Syrian government to the IAEA last month. The announcement was made amid the new Syrian government’s commitment to cooperate with the UN watchdog.
Senior Syrian diplomats said Damascus remains interested in developing a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. Syria intends to place all nuclear material under its control under international safeguards.
Under the Assad regime, Syria was believed to have run an extensive, undeclared nuclear programme. One element was suspected to be a nuclear reactor built by North Korea in the area of Deir al-Zor province, in eastern Syria.
During Assad’s rule, Syria did allow IAEA inspectors to visit some locations. However, under the leadership of Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the country has pledged to cooperate fully with the UN watchdog and to provide access for IAEA inspectors to sites suspected of nuclear-related activity.
“My team and I have been to the Deir al-Zor site, where very thorough excavation and exploration work is currently taking place,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi at a press conference in Damascus.
Grossi said another location holding nuclear material had also been found. However, he did not provide further details.
At the press conference, Grossi said the cooperation of the Syrian government was of great significance. He said the nuclear material could have been misused.
“We are talking about several tonnes of nuclear material that could be misused, and Syria has decided to open this site to IAEA inspectors. The presence of this material will be recorded and entered into the international safeguards system,” he said.
Syria under its new government has expressed its intention to develop nuclear energy. The site at Deir al-Zor only became publicly known after Israel launched a series of air strikes in 2007 that destroyed the facility.
The Assad regime in power at the time subsequently levelled the site and never provided a comprehensive response to IAEA questions. In 2024, before the Assad regime was overthrown, IAEA inspectors took samples at three locations in Syria. In 2025, the IAEA said it had found traces of uranium at one of those locations.
Assad himself has been sentenced to death by a Syrian court. He was sentenced to death in absentia after being found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war.
The verdict against Assad, who fled with his family to Moscow, Russia, in December 2024, is the first under the new authority that this year began trying figures from the Assad government. Trials have been held both in person and in absentia.
According to AFP, the Syrian court also sentenced Assad’s brother, Maher al-Assad, to death. The court found him guilty of premeditated murder, torture and incitement.
The Syrian court decided to execute the al-Assad brothers and pledged to pursue them internationally. The court also sentenced Assad-era official Atif Najib to death for crimes against humanity committed while serving as head of political security in Daraa province, where the 2011 uprising in the country began.
The court sentenced Najib, a cousin of Assad who was arrested in January 2025, to death for crimes including murder, the deliberate killing of children under the age of 15, and torture leading to death.