Nuclear materials from the Assad regime's abandoned project must be accounted for and secured, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog has told The National.
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi said pinning down the remnants of Syria's failed project was one of the agency's top priorities this year, as armed militias and government troops clash in the north-east of the country.
Israel bombed Al Kibar reactor near Deir Ezzor in 2007, amid intelligence reports that suggested it was close to completion thanks to extensive support from North Korea.
It was estimated that 96 per cent of the chemical stockpile was destroyed, but inspectors had no access to the site for nearly two decades.
"It's very, very important for the IAEA to return," Mr Grossi told The National at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos.
The government of President Ahmad Al Shara, who overthrew former leader Bashar Al Assad in December 2024, invited the agency to visit last year. Inspectors in September said initial sampling found traces of uranium.
"I was in Damascus last year with President Al Shara, with Foreign Minister [Asaad] Al Shibani. We visited one of the relevant sites ... that were related possibly to the development of nuclear weapons.
"Not all of the remnants of that programme have been secured and checked. So we have there – and we hope not – but a potential source of proliferation, especially in an environment that is not completely secured, and where different military groups are moving around."
Asked whether the uranium was of any threat, Mr Grossi said: "Some of it we still need to check. We know there are places of interest where we need to go."
The Assad regime denied all knowledge of the Israel strike or the nuclear programme, but the country's current government has allowed inspectors access. "The reaction from the government has been positive, has been constructive," Mr Grossi added. "We're trying to continue this work, which is going to be one of our main tasks during the year."
Iran's nuclear ambitions
One of the agency's most demanding duties was inspecting Iran's nuclear programme. Tehran has long claimed the project was for civilian purposes, but the US and the IAEA documented evidence that Tehran had a large uranium stockpile that was consistently on the verge of being weaponised.
Inspectors were frozen out last year after US President Donald Trump ordered the bombing of several sites, including Fordow, its most heavily guarded nuclear site.
Mr Grossi said the strikes caused major damage to infrastructure, but the lack of information or access to the stockpile since then was worrying.
"In terms of the infrastructure, one has to recognise that the June attacks had very severe effects," he said. "At the same time, the inventory, the stockpile of highly enriched uranium, is always there. Until the inspectors go back, we will not be able to have a guarantee that the material has not been diverted [for weapon use]."
He is concerned by the "overall volatile" situation. "We're convinced that only through a diplomatic framework can the situation in Iran be stabilised," he added.
In his speech in Davos on Wednesday, Mr Trump claimed the US had to strike Iran last June because "they would have had a nuclear weapon within two months".
The claim went far beyond anything the IAEA or US intelligence officials have reported before and drew scepticism. "That being said, this relentless accumulation of uranium, enriched at almost military level, was a legitimate source of concern," Mr Grossi said.
UN chief ambitions
This year, a new UN secretary general will be selected when Antonio Guterres steps down after 10 years. So far, Mr Grossi is the only official nominee, chosen by his native Argentina.
The selection comes as the UN takes a battering from Mr Trump and his allies, faces a major budget shortfall and its effectiveness is called into question.
"There is a lot of criticism, there is a lot of frustration, because of the relative absence – if not total absence – of the UN from the resolution of most of the international crises," Mr Grossi said. "We need to restore the place of the United Nations at the centre of its original mission – preservation of peace and international security."
Asked if he hoped to begin the job in January 2027, he said: "I certainly do."
