The IAEA has ended its investigation into Syria and their past nuclear history. It first all started when their former President Bashar al Assad was building secret nuclear reactors in an Easter province in Syria with the help of the North Koreans. The reactor got blown up by an Israel airstrike in 2007. In 2011 the IAEA found that they were in violation of their non proliferation obligations, because they didn’t report that the reactor was being built. With Bashar al Assad being ousted in 2024, the UN was finally able to go back with the new government complying and letting them see the Nuclear Materials still there in Syria. They found 73 tons of natural uranium. The UN voted to end the investigation but Syria still has to follow nuclear agreements.
This article is important because it shows how long and difficult as well as complicated the process was for this secret nuclear program that started almost 20 years ago. The IAEA was looking into it for almost 20 years before now finally ending the investigation. I also think that the former President Assad was a big reason for that also, because under the new form of government they complied and let the inspectors investigate the old nuclear sites where they found the uranium. Even though they finally finished everything and voted on it, Syria still obviously has to listen to the nuclear agreements in the UN.
There are 4 stakeholders in this situation. The first one is Syria, because they are the ones who started the violations in the first place and they still have to follow all the rules and cooperate with the IAEA. The IAEA is the second one and they are going to still monitor them and the natural uranium. The UN is another one because it was originally reported to them. North Korea Is the Last stakeholder because they helped build the reactor in Syria. These groups all have roles with Syria’s past nuclear history.
The article connects to class because it shows how a country like Syria had to take responsibility for what they did even if it all didn’t unfold and finish up until now almost 20 years after it started. Syria had to report its nuclear actions and allow the inspectors to see the nuclear materials so they could make sure they weren’t gonna use the resources for harm. This also shows how different countries help each other for this instance it was North Korea helping Syria build the nuclear reactor. Finally international organizations work with countries to monitor their activities, which is the IAEA in this case.