At the ongoing IAEA Board of Directors meeting in Vienna, which was closed to the press, the decision regarding Syria's nuclear file, inherited from the deposed Assad regime, was discussed.
The decision to record that Syria has remedied the violations of obligations detected in 2011 and to close the file was accepted unanimously.
In the decision, it was stated that the new administration in Syria provided the necessary information and access to the IAEA, and that previously undeclared nuclear materials were included within the scope of the Agency's assurance inspections.
In the decision, which stated that Syria clarified and resolved the questions regarding the open assurance audit issues related to the IAEA's past nuclear activities, it was noted that the Damascus administration took the necessary steps to eliminate the violations of obligations detected in 2011.
In the decision, the importance of the Board of Directors being able to determine with the same clarity that the violation of obligations has been resolved was appreciated, and the transparency and cooperation of the new Syrian administration was appreciated.
In the decision, it was decided to terminate the provisions of the 2011 decision, which ruled that Syria did not fulfill its obligations during the Assad regime, and to remove the file titled "Implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Assurance Control Agreement in Syria" from the agenda of the Board of Directors.
The decision stated that Syria's obligations under the NPT continue and that the country will now be subject to routine assurance inspections by the IAEA, like other non-nuclear-weapon party states.
IAEA President Rafael Mariano Grossi was asked to inform the Board of Directors when the ongoing work, including the excavations in Deir ez-Zor, is completed. It was also decided that the decision and Grossi's Syria report would be sent to IAEA member countries and the United Nations Security Council.
Turkey congratulated Syria on closing the nuclear file
Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Vienna Office, Ambassador Mustafa Kibaroğlu, spoke at the meeting and congratulated Syria.
Kibaroğlu said, "We congratulate Syria on this historic day and appreciate the Syrian government's ongoing normalization efforts with the international community. We emphasize that Türkiye's support to Syria will continue on all platforms." he said.
73 tons of natural uranium metal were taken under the custody and supervision of the IAEA
In Grossi's report dated September 1, which formed the basis for the Board of Directors' decision, it was stated that approximately 73 tons of natural uranium metal were found in a new field reported by Syria.
In the report, it was noted that approximately 55 tons of this amount consisted of 8 thousand 808 fuel rods and 18 tons consisted of uranium scrap and waste. It was reported that all of the material was under the preservation and surveillance measures of the IAEA.
The agency concluded that Syria did not notify the IAEA about the nuclear reactor under construction in Deir ez-Zor during the Assad regime, the facility where the reactor fuel was produced, and the area where the fuel and uranium scrap and waste were stored.
The history of the file dates back to 2007
The facility in Deir ez-Zor was destroyed by an attack by Israel in September 2007, and the Assad regime claimed that the structure was a non-nuclear military facility.
As a result of its investigations, the IAEA concluded that the structure was a nuclear reactor that should be reported to the Agency, and the IAEA Board of Directors ruled in 2011 that Syria did not fulfill its obligations under the NPT.
After the change of administration in Syria, the new government started cooperation with the IAEA in 2025 and gained access to relevant facilities.
IAEA inspectors confirmed the presence of approximately 73 tons of natural uranium in a new field reported by Syria in July 2026.
