President Trump huddled with his national security team Thursday amid mounting speculation of a military attack in response to Syria’s suspected use of chemical weapons, while Britain’s Cabinet gave the green light to join the U.S. and France in planning a strike.
France has proof the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack last week and will decide whether to strike back when all the necessary information has been gathered, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted ballistic missiles and shot down drones sent from Yemen, in the latest attack by pro-Iranian rebels that showed improved military capabilities more than three years into the conflict.
Trump administration officials have consulted with global allies on a possible joint military response to Syria’s alleged poison gas attack, as US President Donald Trump canceled a foreign trip in order to manage a crisis that is testing his vow to stand up to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
President Trump canceled plans Tuesday for his first trip to South America, in another sign that he is preparing to order an imminent military strike against Syria over its deadly chemical weapons attack against civilians in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus.
The Russian military has been jamming some U.S. military drones operating in the skies over Syria, seriously affecting American military operations, according to four U.S. officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin should authorize ‘military measures’ in response to any strike by western powers on Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, according to a senior Russian lawmaker.
Russia on Tuesday vetoed a U.S.-led resolution to establish a process for investigating the apparent chemical weapons attack in Syria, during the second consecutive day of debate on the incident at the United Nations Security Council.
President Donald Trump is threatening an imminent military strike against Syria, vowing to respond ‘forcefully’ to Saturday’s apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians and warning that Russia or any other nation found to share responsibility will ‘pay a price.’
Amid uncertainty over the future direction of US policy in Syria, Nikki Haley — the US Ambassador to the UN — issued a stinging rebuke on Wednesday to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime over its continued use of chemical weapons.
Russia said on Tuesday it had information that the United States planned to bomb the government quarter in Damascus on an invented pretext, and said it would respond militarily if it felt Russian lives were threatened by such an attack.
The United States wants the United Nations Security Council to create a new inquiry into who is to blame for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Thursday she hopes to put it to a vote as early as next week.
North Korea has been sending equipment to Syria that could be used in the manufacturing of chemical weapons, according to a New York Times report citing United Nations experts.
The Foreign Ministry fears poison gas may leak into Israel if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons against rebels near the Golan Heights, and has reported warned of a punishing response should such a situation unfold.
President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that ‘France will strike’ if chemical weapons are used against civilians in the Syrian conflict in violation of international treaties, but that he had not yet seen proof this was the case.
The village of Jamraya is located several kilometers northeast of Damascus, near a large military and research complex. The entrance to the well-guarded facility is likely permitted exclusively to people who have been checked and approved by Syria’s internal security apparatuses.
Amnesty International has accused the Assad regime of showing “utter contempt” of international law following a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqib Sunday. This latest chemical attack comes just one day before the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a U.S.-proposed statement Monday condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in the war-torn nation. Russia was blamed by some diplomats for its failure.
The US said it was ‘gravely alarmed’ by reports of chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian regime Monday, as it accused Russia of protecting Syrian President Bashar Assad from responsibility for the use of chlorine gas against civilians in recent weeks.
Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control approved a license for a company to sell military applicable technology to Iranian companies that subsequently was used in Syrian regime chemical weapons attacks, reported the German publication Bild on Monday.
The Trump administration is prepared to again take military action against Syrian government forces if necessary to deter the use of chemical weapons and is concerned they may be developing new methods to deliver such weapons, senior US officials said on Thursday.