Syria agrees to let UN watchdog remove uranium from bombed reactor site

Overview

Updated Aug 11

For nineteen years, the ruins of a bombed reactor in eastern Syria held a stash of uranium no inspector could touch. Now Syria's new government says it will let the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), haul the material away. The move heads off an Israeli threat to bomb the site a second time.

The material is yellowcake, a lightly processed uranium powder left over from the Al-Kibar reactor Israel destroyed in 2007. It cannot make a bomb on its own. But experts warn it could seed a radiological 'dirty bomb,' so removal, brokered by the United States, is due by the end of 2026.

Why it matters

Removing Assad's last nuclear stockpile defuses a site Israel was ready to bomb again, lowering the odds of a new strike inside Syria.

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Key Indicators

Dec 2026

Removal deadline

Target date for the IAEA to clear all nuclear material from the site.

2007

Year Israel destroyed the reactor

Israeli jets bombed the Al-Kibar reactor in September 2007.

Syrian sites opened to inspectors

Locations the new government agreed to open to the IAEA in June 2025.

Yellowcake

Material to be removed

A uranium ore concentrate that can be further processed toward reactor fuel.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Transitional President of Syria

Leading Syria's post-Assad government and its opening to inspectors

Rafael Mariano Grossi

Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency

Overseeing inspections and the planned material removal

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of Israel

Warned Israel would strike the site if material stays

Organizations Involved

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

United Nations nuclear watchdog

Will carry out the material removal by end of 2026

The UN's nuclear watchdog, which verifies that countries' nuclear material is not diverted to weapons.

United States Government

National Government

Broker of the three-way understanding

Washington mediated between Syria, Israel and the IAEA to arrange the removal.

Timeline

September 2007 August 2026

7 events Latest: August 11th, 2026 · 2 months ago

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August 2026
Syria confirms cooperation on removal
Latest Statement

Syria's government publicly confirms it will work with the IAEA to remove the material, a de-escalation step after Israel's threat to strike again.
August 11th, 2026
US-brokered deal reported
Statement

Axios reports a secret understanding among the US, Syria, Israel and the IAEA to clear yellowcake from Site 99 by year's end.
August 10th, 2026
July 2026
IAEA and Syria sign removal arrangement
Diplomacy

After Israeli surveillance flags activity near Site 99, the US brokers a deal and the IAEA signs an arrangement with Syria to remove the material.
July 2026
June 2025
Syria reopens nuclear sites to inspectors
Diplomacy

After Grossi meets al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria grants the IAEA access to four sites tied to its past nuclear work.
June 4th, 2025
December 2024
Assad's government falls
Political

Bashar al-Assad is ousted. A transitional government under Ahmed al-Sharaa takes power in Damascus.
December 2024
May 2011
IAEA concludes the site was a reactor
Investigation

The IAEA reports the destroyed site was 'very likely' an undeclared nuclear reactor. Assad's government refuses further cooperation.
May 24th, 2011
September 2007
Israel destroys the Al-Kibar reactor
Force in Play

Israeli jets bomb a secret gas-graphite reactor near Deir ez-Zor, built with North Korean help. Both governments stay silent for years.
September 6th, 2007

Scenarios

IAEA removes the material on schedule

Likely Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: Axios, The Jerusalem Post, citing US officials

Inspectors extract the yellowcake and export it before the end of 2026, as the US-brokered deal envisions. Syria keeps access open, Israel holds its fire, and the agency confirms the site is cleared. This is the outcome all four parties have signed up to, and US officials expect removal to begin soon.

Deadline slips, material still on site into 2027

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: Reporting notes the material had not been removed as of August 2026

Logistics, security around Deir ez-Zor, or political friction delay the operation past the end-of-2026 target. The material stays put while the parties renegotiate timing. A slip would not end the deal, but it would test Israel's patience and keep the site a live concern.

Israel strikes Site 99 again

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: The Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, citing Israeli threats

If Syria appears to move on the material or removal collapses, Israel makes good on its warning and bombs the site a second time. Israel has said it will not let the material remain and flagged activity near the site earlier in 2026. A strike would blow up the diplomatic track and reopen a Syria-Israel flashpoint.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2003 – 2004

Libya gives up its WMD program (2003-2004)

Muammar Gaddafi announced Libya would abandon its nuclear and chemical weapons programs. Over 2004, American and IAEA teams removed centrifuges, uranium and design documents, flying key material to the United States.

Then

Sanctions eased and Libya's international isolation began to lift.

Now

Held up as a model of voluntary disarmament, though Gaddafi's violent fall in 2011 later complicated its lessons.

Why this matters now

Another state surrendered nuclear material to defuse Western pressure, with outside teams doing the physical removal.

September 2013 – mid-2014

Syria's chemical weapons removed (2013-2014)

After a sarin attack near Damascus killed hundreds, the US threatened strikes. A US-Russia deal instead put Syria's chemical stockpile under international control, and the OPCW shipped out roughly 1,300 tonnes of agents for destruction.

Then

US strikes were averted and most declared chemical agents left the country.

Now

Later chemical attacks showed the disarmament was incomplete, denting the deal's credibility.

Why this matters now

Same country, same pattern: dangerous material removed under threat of military strike, overseen by an international body.

October 1994

North Korea's Yongbyon freeze (1994)

The US and North Korea signed the Agreed Framework to freeze the Yongbyon gas-graphite reactor, the same design North Korean engineers later helped Syria copy at Al-Kibar, in exchange for aid and lighter-water reactors.

Then

Yongbyon's plutonium work paused for several years.

Now

The deal collapsed by 2002-2003 and North Korea went on to test nuclear weapons.

Why this matters now

Shows the exact reactor lineage behind Al-Kibar and how such nonproliferation deals can unravel.