IAEA Finds Traces Of Uranium In Syria Regarding Israeli Bombing Locations

JAKARTA - The UN nuclear watchdog found traces of uranium in Syria in its investigation into an Israeli-destroyed building in 2007, which the agency believed was an undeclared nuclear reactor, according to a report to member states on Monday.

Bashar al-Assad's government, the now ousted Syrian leader, said the location of Deir al-Zor, which includes the building, is a conventional military base.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that in 2011, the building was "very likely" to be a secret built reactor that Damascus should have announced.

The agency has been working since then to come to a definite conclusion, and under a new push last year, they managed to sample the environment in three unnamed locations "expectedly linked functionally" to Deir al-Zor, according to a classified report seen by Reuters.

The agency found "large numbers of natural uranium particles in samples taken in one of the three locations.

The analysis of these particles shows that the uranium comes from anthropogenics, which is produced through chemical processes, "the report said.

The term "natural" shows the uranium is not enriched. The report does not conclude the meaning of the traces found.

"Syria authorities are currently indicating they have no information that could explain the presence of these uranium particles," the report said, adding the government had now returned to granting IAEA access to the location in June this year to take more environmental samples.

At the same month meeting between IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, "Syria agreed to cooperate with the Agency, through full transparency, to deal with Syria's nuclear activities in the past," the report said.

At the meeting, Grossi asked Syria for help to return to Deir al-Zor himself "in the next few months to conduct further analysis, access relevant documentation, and talk to parties involved in Syria's nuclear activities in the past".

The report states the IAEA is still planning to visit Deir al-Zor and will evaluate the results of environmental samples taken at other locations.

"Once this process is completed and the results are evaluated, there will be opportunities to clarify and resolve existing security concerns related to Syria's nuclear activities in the past and to resolve this issue," he said.