UN inspectors visit undeclared Syrian nuclear sites for first time

UN inspectors this week visited several undeclared Assad-era Syrian nuclear sites for the first time — including some used to store nuclear material.

Why it matters: The inspections by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi and his team came after diplomatic efforts by the Trump administration, first reported by Axios, that produced understandings with both Syria and Israel.

• It marked the first time the IAEA was given full access to suspicious nuclear sites in Syria.

Flashback: The Assad regime had developed a secret nuclear program centered on the clandestine Al-Kibar reactor.

• After Israel bombed the reactor in 2007, the Syrian nuclear program was mostly destroyed. But several research-and-development and storage sites remained, though they were mostly inactive.
• After the fall of the Assad regime, the IAEA signed an agreement with the new Syrian government giving it access to Al-Kibar and several other sites connected to Syria's past nuclear activity.
• One facility that Israel and the U.S. have been closely monitoring the past two years is known as "Site 99."
• Two Israeli officials said the Assad regime stored nuclear material there that was part of the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor project.

Driving the news: At a press conference with Grossi on Tuesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said his government sent a letter to the IAEA on July 17 disclosing the nuclear material and inviting UN inspectors to visit the site.

• Grossi said IAEA inspectors visited the Al-Kibar nuclear reactor site in Deir Ez-Zor and "observed ongoing excavation activities" taking place in coordination with the IAEA.
• Grossi said he and his team visited an undeclared location outside Damascus where "several tons of natural uranium metal" were stored.
• They also visited a location "where large quantities of graphite are stored," material that is also related to past nuclear activities at Al-Kibar.

What they're saying: "We agreed with the Syrian government that the undeclared material will be verified and subject to routine Agency safeguards," Grossi said.

• He stressed that UN inspectors still need to conduct a full inventory of the nuclear material. If the Syrian government and its allies decide to move the material, the IAEA will be involved in the process, Grossi added.
• Al-Shaibani, the Syrian foreign minister, said the nuclear material will be placed "under IAEA safeguards, while verification activities continue."
• He said that the Syrian government "exercises its sovereign responsibility for all nuclear material located on its territory" and added that this material "remains in Syrian national custody."
• Al-Shaibani didn't mention the possibility of removing the nuclear material from the country.