Trump says Russia, Iran behavior in Syria a ‘disgrace’

US President Donald Trump on Friday slammed as a "disgrace" the actions of the Syrian government and its Iranian and Russian backers, as the world struggles to stop a deadly assault on a rebel-held enclave near Damascus.

"I will say what Russia and what Iran and what Syria have done recently is a humanitarian disgrace," Trump told a news conference. "What those three countries have done to those people is a disgrace."

The US State Department has said Russia -- whose air force is also striking Eastern Ghouta -- has a "unique responsibility" for the mounting death toll in the besieged enclave.