Don ducks out as gas check set

SYRIA AND its Russian backer invited an international chemical weapons watchdog to the town where a suspected gas attack killed dozens of people, hoping to avert U.S. military action.

President Trump canceled his upcoming trip to South America after he promised to unleash a “forceful” response to an attack in the city of Douma The President vowed that any country involved would “pay a price.”

Trump has spoken with other world leaders about how to retaliate, and administration officials told The Associated Press the U.S., France and Britain have been in extensive consultations about launching a military strike as early as week’s end.

Trump was scheduled to leave Friday for the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, and then stop for a day in Bogota, Colombia, on Sunday.

“The President will remain in the United States to oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world,” press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

Vice President Pence will travel to the gathering instead.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding mission was “preparing to deploy to Syria shortly,” though it did not give travel details.

John Bolton, a former ambassador to the United Nations and a noted war hawk, joined the Trump administration as the President’s new national security adviser on Monday, raising concern that Trump may take a more aggressive military stance on certain issues, including Syria.

Moscow has warned the U.S. not to launch a military attack.

Tensions in the region have been strained since at least 49 people were killed in the chemical attack over the weekend.

Making matters worse, Iran, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, threatened to respond to an air strike on a Syrian military base on Monday that Syria, Russia and Iran blamed on Israel.

Seven Iranians were among at least 14 people killed in the strike, and a senior Iranian official in Damascus said the attack “will not remain unanswered.”

Last week, Trump talked about pulling the remaining 2,000 U.S. troops out of the war-torn nation, a sentiment some — including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — say may have emboldened Assad to use chemical weapons.

It was not immediately clear whether the watchdog’s announcement would delay or prevent a U.S. strike in Syria.