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'Tons' of nuclear materials found at undisclosed Syrian site, IAEA chief says

  Tue, 18 Aug 2026
Middle East The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is seen at the agencys headquarters in Vienna, Austria on March 2, 2026. -  Helmut Fohringer, AFP archives
TUE, 18 AUG 2026
The logo of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is seen at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on March 2, 2026. - © Helmut Fohringer, AFP archives

Nuclear ⁠material found ​at an undisclosed site in Syria ​was not dangerous and would remain in Syrian custody, subject to the International Atomic ​Energy ‌Agency's guarantees, Syria's Foreign ⁠Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said on Tuesday.

Shibani added in ‌a joint press conference with IAEA chief ⁠Rafael Mariano Grossi in Damascus that Syria had the right to ​use the material for civil and ‌peaceful purposes.

Read more Iran nuclear pledge needs 'very strong' verification after war, IAEA chief says

Since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, Syria's ‌new authorities have committed to working with ​the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to address the legacy of nuclear activities during decades of ​Assad family rule.

Grossi said the ​agency was able to ​access the site after the Syrian government notified it. Syria ​is not known to hold operational stockpiles of nuclear material for a weapons programme, but Israel bombed a ⁠suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in 2007 in the ⁠country's ​eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

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