August 24, 2026 | WSJ Letter to the Editor
Syria’s Nuclear Saga Needs a Clean Ending
The U.S. should insist on full removal of the material, no further nuclear program and Syria’s signature to the IAEA’s Additional Protocol.
August 24, 2026 | WSJ Letter to the Editor
Syria’s Nuclear Saga Needs a Clean Ending
The U.S. should insist on full removal of the material, no further nuclear program and Syria’s signature to the IAEA’s Additional Protocol.
Excerpt
Your editorial is right: The best outcome for Syria’s leftover nuclear material is its complete removal, not mere safeguards (“Ending the Syrian Nuclear Saga,” Aug. 20). Placing tons of natural-uranium metal under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight is progress, yet Syria should not pursue a civil nuclear program.
Damascus has no technical need for the natural-uranium metal or related graphite it seeks to retain—its sole Chinese-supplied research reactor requires only small amounts of highly enriched uranium fuel, and Syria lacks the facilities to convert the material anyway. Amid ongoing instability, any new natural-uranium reactor would risk radioactive hazards or diversion of material into the wrong hands.
Andrea Stricker is deputy director of FDD’s Nonproliferation Program and an FDD research fellow.