US strike on Syria would bring Israel's destruction, says Iranian commander

DUBAI - Iran's Revolutionary Guards chief said a U.S. military attack on Syria would lead to the "imminent destruction" of Israel and would prove a "second Vietnam" for America, according to an Iranian news agency.

Shi'ite Muslim Iran, an arch-enemy of Israel, is supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels trying to oust him in a two-and-a-half-year-old revolt.

Iran has blamed the rebels for a suspected chemical weapons on Aug. 21 that killed hundreds of civilians. Opposition activists blame Assad's forces, Washington has agreed and President Barack Obama made the case for a limited military strike against Syria in response to the chemical attack.

Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in an interview late on Wednesday with the Tasnim news agency that a U.S. strike on Syria would not help Israel.

"An attack on Syria will mean the imminent destruction of Israel," Jafari said, according to Tasnim.

The interview was widely picked up by Iranian media on Thursday. Tasnim, which launched in 2012, says on its website that it is devoted to "defending the Islamic Revolution against negative media propaganda".

Jafari, as quoted by Tasnim, also warned the United States that it risked embroilment in a costly and protracted struggle if it intervened in Syria.

"Syria will turn into a more dangerous and deadly battlefield than the Vietnam War, and in fact, Syria will become the second Vietnam for the United States," he said.

(Reporting By Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Here's a brief write-up on the conversation between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande:

Merkel and Hollande agree need for reaction to Syrian gas attack

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande agreed in a phone call there must be a reaction to the poison gas attack in Syria that violated human rights, Merkel's spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

"They hope for a quick end to the U.N.'s investigation mission and an immediate report to the U.N. Security Council so that it can fulfil its responsibility with regards to this monstrous crime," the statement read.

Just four weeks before elections in which Merkel hopes to win a third term, she faces a balancing act in how to respond to pictures of the chemical weapons attack, as German voters overwhelmingly oppose military action there.

(Reporting By Sarah Marsh; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Russia sends warships to Mediterranean as Syria tension rises

By Timothy Heritage

MOSCOW - Russia is sending two warships to the east Mediterranean, Interfax news agency said on Thursday, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria.

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The full assessment from the British government's Joint Intelligence Committee can be found here: Syria: reported chemical weapons use - Joint Intelligence Committee letter

Here are some key excerpts of the assessment:

"A chemical attack occurred in Damascus on the morning of 21 August, resulting in at least 350 fatalities. It is not possible for the opposition to have carried out a chemical weapons attack on this scale. The regime has used chemical weapons on a smaller scale on at least 14 occasions in the past. There is some intelligence to suggest regime culpability in this attack. These factors make it highly likely that the Syrian regime was responsible.

"Extensive video footage attributed to the attack in eastern Damascus (which we assess would be very difficult to falsify) is consistent with the use of a nerve agent, such as sarin, and is not consistent with the use of blister or riot control agents.

"There is no obvious political or military trigger for regime use of chemical weapons on an apparently larger scale now, particularly given the current presence in Syria of the UN investigation team. Permission to authorise chemical weapons has probably been delegated by President Assad to senior regime commanders, such as, but any deliberate change in the scale and nature of use would require his authorisation.

"There is no credible evidence that any opposition group has used chemical weapons. A number continue to seek a chemical weapons capability, but none currently has the capability to conduct a chemical weapons attack on this scale."

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn and William James; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Mark Heinrich)

Cameron says it would be "unthinkable" to take military action against Syria if there was "overwhelming opposition" in the U.N. Security Council.

Italian PM says Italy will not join Syrian operation unless UN backs it

ROME - Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Thursday Italy would not join any military operation against Damascus without authorisation from the United Nations Security Council.

"If the United Nations doesn't back it, Italy will not participate," he told Italy's RAI state radio, but added that Italy fully backed international condemnation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The international community has to respond strongly to Assad and his regime and to the horrors which have been committed," he said, referring to reported chemical weapons attacks blamed on the Syrian government.

(Reporting by James Mackenzie; editing by Andrew Roche)

"The U.N. is not some inconvenient side-show" - Miliband.