Iran will support Syria “to the end” in case US use military force

Iran’s elite Quds Force unit commander Qassem Soleimani has said, “the aim of the United States is not to protect human rights ... but to destroy the front of resistance [against Israel],” Soleimani was quoted as saying by AFP citing local media,  “we will support Syria to the end,” he added in a speech to the Iranian Assembly of Experts, without elaborating, however, Iran’s Defense Minister, Hossein Dehqan, ruled out sending troops or weapons to Syria, “the Syrians do not need us to provide them with weapons because they have a defensive anti-aircraft system themselves,” Dehqan was quoted as saying.

Heavy clashes between Syrian government forces and militants of the Al-Qaida affiliated group,

Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Nusra Front), have been going on in the mountains surrounding the UNESCO-listed Christian village in western Syria after the insurgents attacked and held it overnight, AP reports, citing the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights.

Militants reportedly left the village of Maaloula early on Thursday, with locals saying they saw them patrolling the streets on foot and in vehicles at night, as well as surrounding the village church and mosque. According to AP speaking with witnesses over the phone, the villagers fear the rebels will return.

Pentagon’s claims that Russia has been shipping chemical weapons

Moscow is puzzled by the Pentagon’s claims that Russia has been shipping chemical weapons or the means to develop them to the Syrian government of Bashar Assad, the head of the Kremlin’s administration, Sergey Ivanov, said, “I’ve heard this statement, spoken in diplomatic language, I was very surprised and even shocked by it,” Ivanov is cited as saying by the ITAR-TASS news agency.

The official added that no matter how Congress votes on the use of force against Syria, the decision by the US lawmaker still won’t be “legitimate”, Ivanov also said that Russia has boosted its naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea in order to evacuate Russian citizens from Syria in case of an attack.

Iran's foreign ministry to lead nuclear talks with world powers

President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday the foreign ministry would take over talks with world powers on Iran's contested nuclear program, an apparent move to smooth the diplomatic process after years of control by conservative hardliners.

source reuters.com

U.S. envoy sees no viable path forward on Syria in U.N. Security Council

There is "no viable path forward" in the U.N. Security Council when it comes to responding to the August 21 chemical attack in Syria that killed hundreds because Russia is holding the council hostage, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday.

source reuters.com

UK has new Syria chemical evidence - David Cameron

The UK has fresh evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Damascus, David Cameron has told the BBC as he arrives in Russia for the G20 summit.

Mr Cameron added: "Britain will be leading the argument on humanitarian aid. Britain will be one of the leaders in bringing forward plans for a peace process for Syria. Britain will be leading the argument across the globe for continuing to respond strongly on chemical weapons."

He said: "I absolutely believe that, having set a red line on the further big use of chemical weapons, it would be wrong if America was to step back and, having set that red line, to do nothing. I think that would send an appalling signal to President Assad and also to dictators elsewhere."

The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has denied involvement and said the rebels were responsible, but Mr Cameron said evidence of the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons was "growing all the time" and scientists at the UK's chemical warfare research laboratories were investigating the attacks on 21 August.

source bbc

‘Russia backs international law, not Assad’ – Putin’s spokesman

Russia isn’t supporting President Bashar Assad in the Syrian conflict, but only seeks adherence to international law, the Russian president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told RT’s SophieCo program, with Snowden, Russia-US relations and G20 also discussed.

Sophie Shevardnadze: President Putin has given a detailed interview explaining Russia’s position on the Syrian conflict, though something remains a little unclear. He said “As soon as Russia gets solid evidence that there was a chemical attack in Syria it will act decisively.” What exactly does that mean?

Dmitry Peskov: The Russian position is very simple, it’s very straightforward and it’s quite obvious. As a matter of fact – and it was said many times by numerous Russian representatives – Russia has never been an advocate of President Assad. Russia has always been an advocate of the supremacy of international law. That is actually what we are trying to explain to our partners: it is a necessity for everyone to stick to the rules and principles of international law. And international law stipulates that the only body that can make use of force against any country legitimately is the United Nations Security Council. And not a single country in the world, not any other international organization can do that.

source rt.com