U.N. nuclear agency samples taken from a Syrian site suspected of being a secretly built reactor have revealed new traces of processed uranium, the agency reported Feb. 19.

A separate report by the same organization — the International Atomic Energy Agency — noted a significant slowdown in Iran's efforts to expand its uranium-enrichment program. The U.N. Security Council has slapped sanctions on Iran for not freezing enrichment, which can be used to make nuclear fuel and the core of warheads.

Both reports — meant for restricted release only to the 35 nations of the IAEA board — were obtained by The Associated Press ahead of a board meeting starting March 2 in Vienna, Austria, that will have the nuclear activities of the two Mideast nations on its agenda.

The documents paint a generally disheartening picture of the agency's efforts to probe the Iranian and Syrian nuclear programs. Iran says its nuclear activities are peaceful; Damascus denies hiding any nuclear program.