IAEA board draws a line under past Syrian nuclear activities
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FILE PHOTO: The IAEA logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2026. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
VIENNA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Wednesday drawing a line under Syria's secret nuclear activities during the Assad family's rule, saying the new authorities had helped resolve all outstanding questions.
After Israel bombed a site in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor in 2007 that it said was a secret nuclear reactor near completion, the International Atomic Energy Agency demanded Syria come clean on its nuclear activities, which it did not do.
The IAEA board declared Syria in breach of its non-proliferation obligations in 2011 and reported it to the U.N. Security Council. After the overthrow of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024, Syria's new authorities pledged to work with the IAEA in helping clear up the past activities.
In a confidential report to member states last week, seen by Reuters, the IAEA said it had resolved all its questions about the outstanding issues originally reported to the board, and the resolution passed on Wednesday said Syria was no longer in non-compliance with its obligations.
"(The board) welcomes the transparency and cooperation of the Syrian Arab Republic, commends it for the actions taken in resolving its non-compliance," the resolution text submitted by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia said.
The resolution was passed by consensus, meaning no state objected, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said.
The IAEA report confirmed it was "very likely" the bombed site was a nuclear reactor, and said fuel for it was made in Syria. The IAEA found around 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal in Syria, most of it in the form of fuel rods.
That material is now under IAEA oversight, and Syria has said it will stay in the country.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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