ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Wednesday adopted a resolution to remove Syria from non-compliant states and end its long-running investigation into the country’s nuclear activities.

The resolution, which terminated a 2011 decision accusing Damascus of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations, was adopted “by consensus” by the 35-member Board of Governors, citing the new Syrian government’s cooperation, two diplomats told AFP.

“This strategic achievement is the result of intensive national and diplomatic efforts managed by the Syrian state with confidence and competence over the course of a year and a half,” the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission said in a statement.

The commission asserted that the decision would restore Syria’s “full right to develop and utilize nuclear science for peaceful purposes within its territory.”

The move also ends sanctions and restrictions imposed under Syria’s non-compliance case and highlights the commission’s cooperation with the IAEA, which “provided full technical and logistical support for international verification,” according to the body.

The resolution was submitted by Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, to encourage Syria “to continue its cooperation with the agency, including the excavation work at the Deir ez-Zor site.”

In August, Damascus and the IAEA released a joint statement saying that their cooperation in investigating a nuclear site in eastern Deir ez-Zor marked “the most significant advance to date.” The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear activities in the country during IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s visit to Syria.

During his August visit, Grossi visited the site in Deir ez-Zor, known as al-Kibar, that the IAEA had suspected contained a nuclear reactor. Israeli fighter jets bombed and destroyed the site in 2007.

Last year, the IAEA said it discovered uranium particles at the Deir ez-Zor site during an inspection in 2024.