Tensions spiral as Israel blamed for deadly strike
BEIRUT — International condemnation grew over a suspected poison gas attack in a rebel-held town near Damascus said to have been carried out by the Syrian government, while Syria and its main ally, Russia, blamed Israel for air strikes on a Syrian air base Monday that reportedly killed 14 people, including four Iranians.
The timing of the strikes in central Homs province, hours after President Trump said there would be “a big price to pay” for the chemical weapons attack, raised questions about whether Israel was acting alone or as a proxy for the United States.
Israel did not comment on Monday’s missile strike. The Jewish State typically does not comment on its air strikes in Syria, which have been numerous in Syria’s civil war.
The fast-paced developments heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia, which has in the past warned against any U.S. military action against President Bashar Assad’s government. Iran, a key ally of Assad, condemned the strikes, which it said killed four Iranians, including a colonel and a member of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace force.
Opposition activists said 40 people died in Saturday night’s chemical attack in the town of Douma, the last remaining rebel bastion in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, blaming Assad’s forces. The attack killed entire families in their homes and underground shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said.
The Syrian government denied it carried out a chemical weapons attack. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it has opened an investigation. In a statement, it said a factfinding mission was gathering information from all available sources to establish whether chemical weapons were used.
Trump on Monday condemned the “heinous attack” in Syria and said he would make a decision on a U.S. response over the next 24 to 48 hours after huddling with military advisers. “Nothing is off the table,” he warned.
“If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out,” he said. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added: “Everybody’s going to pay a price — he will, everybody will.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May said Assad’s government and its backers, including Russia, “must be held to account” if it is found to have been responsible for the suspected poison gas attack.
The European Union also laid the blame squarely on Assad’s government.
The attack on the air base was the second such strike this year. Israel hit the base, known as T4, in February, after it said an Iranian drone that violated Israeli airspace took off from it.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said two Israeli aircraft targeted the base Monday, firing eight missiles. It said Syria shot down five of them while the three others landed in the western part of the base.