BEIRUT (AP) — The international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it was sending a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected chemical gas attack took place over the weekend, following a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers that appeared to be aimed at averting punitive Western military action. The White House said he later spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and the two “agreed not to allow the use of chemical weapons to continue.”

Trump also discussed Syria with French President Emanuel Macron, who said Tuesday that France would decide in the coming days on “a strong and joint response” with the U.S. and Britain to the suspected attack. Trump administration officials have consulted with global allies on a possible joint military response to Syria's alleged poison gas attack, as President Donald Trump cancelled a foreign trip in order to manage a crisis that is testing his vow to stand up to Syrian president Bashar Assad. Seven Iranians were among the estimated 14 people killed in the missile strike, and a senior Iranian official visiting Damascus said the attack “will not remain unanswered.” Ali Akbar Velayati, an aide to Iran’s supreme leader, spoke upon arrival in the Syrian capital on Tuesday. The politician said the Syrian government was expecting a limited U.S. strike, similar to the one on Shayrat air base last year, which came after an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town in northern Syria that killed dozens of people. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said any U.S. missile strike could be an attempt to destroy evidence of the reported chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Douma, for which Damascus and Moscow have denied any responsibility. WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying Russian warnings against U.S. military strikes in Syria, President Donald Trump said Wednesday that missiles "will be coming" in response to Syria's suspected chemical attack that killed at least 40 people.
Representatives of Russia and Israel meet in Moscow to discuss the Middle East, particularly recent developments in Syria and Gaza.