Syria has granted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to a site in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor for the first time since 2008.
At a joint press conference with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Damascus on Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al Shaibani said cooperation between Syria and the IAEA had now reached an advanced stage.
"On July 17, we sent an official letter to the agency, in which we declared, of our own free will, the presence of nuclear materials at an undeclared site left by the former regime," al Shaibani said, adding that Grossi "and the agency team completed their site visit this morning and collected the necessary samples."
According to al Shaibani, Syria’s approach to the nuclear issue is based on transparency.
He said the new Syria seeks cooperation with the international community.
Grossi lauds Syria
Grossi, for his part, voiced gratitude to Syria under President Ahmed al Sharaa for their commitment to working with the IAEA.
Joint efforts, Grossi said, will ensure that Syria’s nuclear activities are no longer associated with nuclear weapons.
He also said that nuclear material dating back to the former regime had been found at a site in Deir Ezzor.
Grossi said that his agency had found several tonnes of nuclear materials.
“After your courageous decision to inform us that there was another place, another site where nuclear material had been stored, we were able to access this place; we are talking about a few tonnes of nuclear material that could be put to bad use," Grossi said.
The IAEA, Grossi said, will keep an inventory of these materials and ensure that they are safely stored.
Bashar al Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in late 2024, ending the country’s decades-long rule by the Baath Party.
Assad was accused by the UN and international human rights organisations of widespread violations, including mass killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the use of chemical weapons.
A government led by al Sharaa was established in early 2025.
