Syria gives green light to U.N. chemical warfare inspectors
Syria gives green light to U.N. chemical warfare inspectors, The Syrian government Sunday agreed to allow the United Nations to inspect the scene of a reported chemical weapons attack.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad told CNN the site in the suburbs of Damascus would be opened up to a U.N. team of chemical weapons inspectors who were already in Syria when the alleged attack took place last week.
Rebels said the incident left hundreds of people dead, but the government's current position is that the rebels themselves were behind it. Syrian television this weekend showed unverified footage of gas masks and other chemical warfare equipment it claimed it captured from rebel forces. The report said Syrian infantrymen in the area had experienced the lingering effects of toxic gas.
Meanwhile, the chemical incident continued to raise tensions between the United States and Iran. The U.S. Navy had four destroyers off Syria Sunday, each capable of deploying cruise missiles capable of reaching specific targets deep inside Syria.
Syria's decision to allow the U.N. team into the scene came after a rare telephone conversation between Syria's foreign minister and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The Wall Street Journal said some analysts suspected Kerry delivered an ultimatum to the government that included the threat of military intervention.
President Obama had previously declared the use of poison gas by President Bashar Assad's regime to be a "red line" and warned Syria it would face consequences from the international community.
Iran, however, this weekend warned the United States was getting close to another "red line." The deputy chief of staff of the Iranian military told the semiofficial Fars new agency there would be "severe consequences" for any U.S. move against its Syrian allies.
Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad told CNN the site in the suburbs of Damascus would be opened up to a U.N. team of chemical weapons inspectors who were already in Syria when the alleged attack took place last week.
Rebels said the incident left hundreds of people dead, but the government's current position is that the rebels themselves were behind it. Syrian television this weekend showed unverified footage of gas masks and other chemical warfare equipment it claimed it captured from rebel forces. The report said Syrian infantrymen in the area had experienced the lingering effects of toxic gas.
Meanwhile, the chemical incident continued to raise tensions between the United States and Iran. The U.S. Navy had four destroyers off Syria Sunday, each capable of deploying cruise missiles capable of reaching specific targets deep inside Syria.
Syria's decision to allow the U.N. team into the scene came after a rare telephone conversation between Syria's foreign minister and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The Wall Street Journal said some analysts suspected Kerry delivered an ultimatum to the government that included the threat of military intervention.
President Obama had previously declared the use of poison gas by President Bashar Assad's regime to be a "red line" and warned Syria it would face consequences from the international community.
Iran, however, this weekend warned the United States was getting close to another "red line." The deputy chief of staff of the Iranian military told the semiofficial Fars new agency there would be "severe consequences" for any U.S. move against its Syrian allies.
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