Libya
Country Spotlight
In 2003, then Libyan dictator Col. Muammar Qadhafi renounced all of his regime’s WMD programs. WMD stockpiles were verifiably dismantled, and Libya began to explore peaceful nuclear energy. However, ongoing civil war and turmoil since the Arab Spring in 2011 has stalled these efforts and has led to regional stability and proliferation concerns.
See Libya’s performance in:
Region Middle East and North Africa
6400 Barrels of yellowcake uranium reportedly stored at Sabha
24.7 Metric tons of sulfur mustard gas declared to OPCW in 2004
55,000 Pounds of WMD-related equipment airlifted to US in 2004
Nuclear
- Purchased uranium enrichment technology and nuclear weapon design plans from the A.Q. Khan network
- Dismantlement of nuclear program completed and verified in 2004
- Plans to pursue nuclear energy have been stalled by conflict and civil war
- 2.5 tons of yellowcake went missing and were recovered in southern Libya in March 2023
Biological
- Attempted to procure foreign assistance for a biological weapons program in the 1990s
- Despite attempts, reportedly failed to ever develop a biological weapons capability
- Currently possesses no biological weapons capabilities
Missile
- Received technical assistance from Iran, North Korea, China, India, and Russia
- Renounced its MTCR-class missiles in 2004
- Despite a UN arms embargo, UAE, Russia, and Turkey were suspected of selling missiles to Libya in 2020
- Reports in December 2024 state that Russia transferred S-400 and S-300 missiles from Syria to eastern Libya, and in 2025 the Libyan National Army apparently acquired the Tor-M2, a Russian-made short-range air defense missile system
- MIM-23 Hawk medium-range air defense systems have been replaced by the more advanced and modern HİSAR-O100 systems at Al Watiya Airbase
Chemical
- Possessed a moderate chemical weapons arsenal until 2004
- Deployed chemical weapons in a conflict against Chad in 1987
- Declared in 2014 that the destruction of its sulfur mustard stockpiles was complete, but still had 850 metric tons of Category 2 chemicals to destroy
- Destroyed the remainder of its Category 2 chemical weapons in January of 2018