Was Syria’s Assad-era nuclear reactor nearly complete?

Yes. On September 7, 2026, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the undeclared nuclear reactor Syria was building at Deir al-Zor—destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in 2007—was “almost completed” and of a type that could efficiently produce fissile material usable in nuclear weapons.

The agency also reported finding about 73 metric tons of natural uranium metal, mainly as reactor fuel, after Syria’s post-Assad authorities gave inspectors access. Grossi said the past safeguards questions related to those Assad-era activities have been clarified and resolved.

Source: Reuters — Syrian nuclear reactor could have been useful for weapons, IAEA chief says

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