The International Atomic Energy Agency has officially confirmed what intelligence services long suspected: Bashar al-Assad’s regime built a covert nuclear reactor, manufactured fuel for it, and hid the entire program from international inspectors for years. A confidential IAEA report circulated to member states puts a definitive stamp on one of the longest-running nuclear mysteries of the 21st century.
The report, distributed around September 1, 2026, details the construction of a nuclear reactor at the Al-Kibar site in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor region, along with the operation of a related fuel fabrication plant and the storage of nuclear material. None of it was ever disclosed under Syria’s obligations as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
What the inspectors found
IAEA verification teams conducted on-the-ground inspections in August 2026, after Syria’s post-Assad government granted full access to previously restricted sites.
Approximately 73 tonnes of natural uranium metal were verified at a newly declared location. Of that total, roughly 55 tonnes were found in clad fuel rods, meaning the material had been processed and shaped specifically for use in a reactor.
