Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor in Deir Ezzor under the leadership of former President Bashar Assad, according to a UN report seen Tuesday by The Associated Press. Inspectors with the UN nuclear watchdog visited several sites in Syria in August and carried out verification work that confirmed the existence of a long-suspected nuclear site, according to the confidential report circulated to member states. Based on this visit, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it is “able to establish that the former Syrian authorities had failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities as required under the NPT Safeguards Agreement.” This information included a nuclear reactor under construction in Deir Ezzor, a fuel fabrication plant and another site used for fuel storage. The UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report seen by AFP on Tuesday that the site at Deir Ezzor held infrastructure “consistent with a nuclear reactor.” “Based on observations made by the agency at the Deir Ezzor site, the agency confirms that the cooling infrastructure which has now been uncovered is consistent with that of a nuclear reactor,” the IAEA said. The agency said it would continue to monitor the activities at the site “as the excavation work progresses.” Besides the “nuclear reactor under construction” at the Deir Ezzor site, the IAEA listed a fuel fabrication plant, where the nuclear fuel for the reactor was manufactured, and a location where the nuclear fuel, as well as uranium scrap and waste were stored. UN nuclear inspectors have secured large quantities of long-concealed uranium stockpiles in Syria dating from the rule of Assad. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi recorded in a non-public report in Vienna on Tuesday that the cache amounted to 73 metric tons, including around 55 tons of fuel rods for a secret reactor project, according to dpa. The report contained the first detailed inventory of the nuclear material, after Grossi and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced the existence of the uranium stockpiles in Damascus two weeks ago. Grossi had warned in Damascus that the uranium could be misused. The site in Deir Ezzor only became public knowledge after Israel launched airstrikes in 2007 that destroyed the facility. Syria later leveled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA's questions about it.
