On September 9, according to AFP, the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to end the investigation into Syria's nuclear program, which has lasted since 2011, after the new government in Syria strengthened cooperation with this agency.
The decision was made after IAEA inspectors arrived at two locations in Syria last month. One location is located in Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria. The second location was not disclosed, as the Syrian government provided information to IAEA.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on September 7 that the near-finished nuclear reactor discovered in Deir Ezzor province has the ability to produce materials that can be used to make nuclear weapons. The project was built secretly under the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
According to the two diplomats in an exchange with AFP, the 2011 resolution on Syria's non-compliance with nuclear obligations is now terminated. The new resolution was proposed by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, and called on Syria to continue cooperation with the IAEA.
In addition to the reactor in Deir Ezzor province, the IAEA also discovered a nuclear fuel production facility and a storage site for fuel, scrap and uranium waste.
In a report accessed by AFP, the IAEA said it had discovered about 73 tons of natural uranium, of which about 55 tons were in the form of fuel rods, and the rest were waste.
Mr. Grossi assessed that the Syrian government's proactive announcement of an unannounced nuclear site was "a brave decision". He said that the cooperation and transparency of the new government is important for Syria's restoration of relations with the international community.
The IAEA once determined in 2011 that the facility in Deir Ezzor province was "very likely" to be a nuclear reactor built with foreign support.
The facility in Deir Ezzor province closed 18 years ago when IAEA inspectors returned last month.
In 2018, Israel admitted to bombing this facility in 2007 and claimed that the target was a nuclear reactor under construction. Previously, US officials also accused Syria of seeking to build a secret nuclear reactor.
However, Mr. Robert Kelley - former IAEA Inspection Operations Director - said that there is no evidence that Syria is pursuing a nuclear weapons program. According to him, this facility may have been built to produce plutonium for foreign countries.
