Iran says Syria will allow UN to inspect chemical sites

Iran’s former Ambassador to the UN Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran, August 12 Syria will allow UN inspectors to visit a site near Damascus where an alleged chemical weapons attack is said to have killed hundreds of people, Iran\'s foreign minister said Saturday . Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by IRNA news agency as saying he had spoken by telephone with his Syrian counterpart, Walid Muallem.
Muallem told him \"the Syrian government will cooperate with the United Nations mission now in Syria to create the conditions for a visit to zones where terrorist groups have carried out attacks with chemical weapons.\"
\"We are currently in the process of discussions with the United Nations mission on preparing this visit,\" he was said to have added.
The Syrian opposition has accused the regime of carrying out chemical weapons attacks on Wednesday near Damascus that killed more than 1300 people.
The regime has denied this and, in turn, blamed the rebels.
There has thus far been no definitive confirmation of what happened, and the United Nations and several world powers have been pressing for inspectors already in the country to go to the site and investigate.
However, in a statement earlier on Saturday Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it has treated around 3600 patients with \"neurotoxic symptoms\" in Syria, of whom 355 died, in what could be the first independent confirmation that chemical weapons were used.
It said the patients arrived in three hospitals it supports in the Damascus governorate on Wednesday, when opposition activists say the ruling regime launched deadly chemical attacks on the outskirts of the capital.
MSF Director of Operations, Dr Bart Janssens, said the organisation could not scientifically confirm the cause of the neurotoxic symptoms, but that the events “strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent”.
The statement came after the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition Ahmad Jarba labelled the attack a “crime of genocide” and said information-gathering by the coalition made it clear that the Syrian regime was fully responsible.  
At a press conference on Saturday, Jarba urging the international community to act, saying the USA and other global players now had to be serious and firm in their support of Syrians.
Earlier on Saturday, a top UN official arrived in Damascus on Saturday to press for an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, after Washington suggested it is weighing military action against Syria\'s regime.
As Under Secretary General Angela Kane arrived at a Damascus hotel, the Syrian government accused rebels of having used chemical weapons northeast of the capital in Wednesday\'s attacks.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said commanders were mulling \"options\" should President Barack Obama decide to use military action against Syria.
The New York Times cited a senior US administration official as saying Washington was looking at NATO\'s air war over Kosovo in 1999 as a blueprint for strikes on Syria without a UN mandate.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius piled the pressure on Damascus, saying the regime carried out a \"chemical massacre\", following similar accusations from his British counterpart.
\"All the information at our disposal converge to indicate that there was a chemical massacre near Damascus and that the Bashar regime is responsible,\" Fabius said on a visit to the West Bank.
His comments came as Damascus ally Iran pointed to the use of chemical weapons in Syria for the first time, blaming the rebels and warning the West against any military intervention.
The opposition accuses President Bashar al-Assad\'s of launching deadly gas attacks on Wednesday southwest and east of the capital.
State television on Saturday countered these claims and said soldiers who tried to enter the rebel-held area had \"suffocated\" on gases.
\"An army unit is surrounding a sector of Jobar where terrorists used chemical weapons,\" it said in reference to the rebels who have been trying to topple Assad since 2011.
Meanwhile the Syrian opposition it had evidence that government forces used chemical weapons in pointing out that they had manage to track the launch of chemical rockets via satellite.?
Commander in Chief of the FSA Selim Idris said there is evidence suggesting Syrian forces planned the attack on the Damascus suburn, explaining that satellites monitored the location of ?the rocket launches. He said the attack came in response to opposition forces targetting Assad’s ?convoy in the beginning of this month.?
Idriss insisted that opposition forces are not in possession of any chemical weapons, in response to
The governments’ ?claims that it found chemical weapons in tunnels used by opposition fighters in ?Damascus.?
Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon handed Kane the task of establishing the terms of an inquiry in talks with Syrian officials and has also called on the rebels to cooperate.
Ban is determined to \"conduct a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation\" into the chemical claims, his spokesman said.
Syria has yet to say if it will let UN experts - already on the ground since Sunday to probe three other sites - to inspect the latest allegations.
France wants \"force\" to be used against the Syrian regime if the claims are confirmed but Obama has voiced caution.
US commanders have nevertheless prepared a range of \"options\" for the president if he chooses to proceed with military strikes against Damascus, Hagel said on Friday.
\"The Defence Department has a responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies,\" he said.
\"And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets to be able to carry out different options -- whatever the president might choose.\" He did not elaborate.
A defence official said the US Navy would expand its presence in the Mediterranean with a fourth warship armed with cruise missiles.
But Iran said \"proof\" indicated rebels were behind the chemical attacks.
\"We are very concerned about information regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria, and we strongly condemn the use of such weapons,\" foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said, quoted by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
\"There is proof terrorist groups carried out this action,\" Araqchi said without elaborating.
Iran also warned against any Western military intervention in the 29-month conflict.
\"There is no international authorisation for a military intervention in Syria. We warn against any actions or statements that could create more tension in the region. I hope that White House officials show enough wisdom not to enter into such dangerous tumult,\" Araqchi added.
Harrowing footage released by activists showing unconscious children, people foaming around the mouth and doctors apparently giving them oxygen has triggered revulsion around the world.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague blamed Syria saying it carried out a \"large scale\" chemical attack and insisted that Damascus give UN inspectors access to the suspect sites.
Russia urged Damascus to cooperate with the UN but dismissed calls for use of force against its ally.
The foreign ministry said Internet footage distributed by the opposition said to implicate the regime had been posted \"several hours before the so-called attack\".
In statements published on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused Russia and China of having blocked a UN text demanding the inspectors be given unfettered access.
Syria\'s main opposition National Coalition pledged to guarantee the safety of the inspectors but warned the \"clock is ticking\" before alleged evidence vanishes.
One year ago, Obama warned the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a \"red line\" and have \"enormous consequences\".
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad\'s rule flared in March 2011, while millions more have fled the country or been internally displaced.
Additional source: AFP