Saudi envoy to US: Syria chemical attack is continuation of Assad, Iran crimes

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, said on Tuesday that the kingdom strongly condemns the chemical attack on Douma this week, in which medical aid groups said entire families were killed by poisonous gas.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the chemical attack carried out by the Assad regime in Douma, Syria. The international community must react to this barbaric act against civilians and uphold its responsibilities towards use of lethal and banned weapons,” Prince Khalid tweeted.

“This barbaric attack is a continuation of crimes committed by the Assad regime and his main backers; the Iranian regime and its proxies (Hezbollah, other Iranian backed sectarian militias). We must stand against their aggression in the region; Syria, Yemen and other countries,” he added.

US President Donald Trump warned Monday that Damascus and Moscow may face consequences over the latest alleged chemical weapons atrocity of the Syrian civil war, promising a decision on military action within hours.

The US leader met with his cabinet and then dined with top generals, telling reporters "we have a lot of options militarily and we'll be letting you know pretty soon ... probably after the fact."

Trump was speaking after a stormy emergency session on the UN Security Council in New York, where Russia's ambassador Vassily Nebenzia rejected a US call for the world body to set up a probe to identify the perpetrators of the suspected attack in Douma.

But US ambassador Nikki Haley warned the United States would act regardless of the outcome of the UN debate, and allies France and Britain had already backed joint action in response to what rescuers called a "poisonous chlorine gas attack" late Saturday.

(With AFP)