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The White House says no decisions have yet been made on a possible attack on Syria, despite President Donald Trump's warning that "missiles will be coming down".
Key points:
- Donald Trump has warned of a quick, forceful response
- Syrian Government, Russia deny that gas attack happened
- Russian politician says US attack would be considered "war crime"
"We're maintaining that we have a number of options and all of those options are still on the table," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
"Final decisions haven't been made yet on that front."
Earlier, Mr Trump tweeted a warning to Russia that "nice and new and smart" missiles would hit Syria, in response to Russia's claim it would shoot down any missiles fired in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma.
Mr Trump said Russia should not be partners with "a Gas Killing Animal", seemingly referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The US and its allies have been considering whether to hit Syria over the suspected poison gas attack that medical relief organisations say killed dozens of people.
British Prime Minister Theresa May called her ministers to an unscheduled Cabinet meeting on Syria, which media reports said was likely to lead to London joining a military response.
The BBC said Ms May was ready to give the go-ahead for Britain to take part in action led by the US without seeking prior approval from Parliament.
In a possible sign Russia may be preparing for a US strike, satellite imagery service ImageSat International said pictures showed Russian naval forces had left a port in Syria.
A senior Russian politician warned the US that Russia would view an air strike on Syria as a war crime.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted Andrei Krasov, deputy chairman of the State Duma's defence committee, as saying Russia would treat a US air strike on Syria "not just as an act of aggression but a war crime of the Western coalition".
Following Mr Trump's tweet, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said US "smart missiles" could be an attempt to destroy evidence of the alleged chemical attack.
She added the missiles should be aimed toward terrorists, "not legal government".
Less than an hour after the warning to Moscow about impending strikes on Syria, Mr Trump tweeted again offering to help boost Russia's economy, calling for an end to what he called an "arms race".
Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said some 500 patients showed signs of exposure to toxic chemicals following the shelling of Douma on the weekend.
Russia warns US against air strike
Mr Trump has previously warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the Syria attack is established, but the Syrian Government and its ally Russia have denied that such an attack ever happened.
Meanwhile, Russia's ambassador to Lebanon said any US missiles fired at Syria would be shot down and the launch sites targeted — a step that could trigger a major escalation in the Syrian war.
Russian ambassador Alexander Zasypkin said he was referring to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian armed forces chief of staff.
The Russian military said on March 13 it would respond to any US strike on Syria, targeting any missiles and launchers involved in such an attack. Russia is Mr al-Assad's most powerful ally.
"If there is a strike by the Americans, then the missiles will be downed and even the sources from which the missiles were fired," Mr Zasypkin told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV.
He also said a clash "should be ruled out and therefore we are ready to hold negotiations".
European airspace authorities have warned aircraft to be careful over the next days when flying close to Syria because of possible military action against Mr Assad's forces.
The Eurocontrol airspace organisation said the European Aviation Safety Agency had sent a "rapid alert notification" that flight operations needed to consider the possibility of air or missile strikes into Syria.
Russia and the US blocked attempts by each other in the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to set up international investigations into chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
Mr Trump on Tuesday cancelled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said.
Russia has been a key backer of Mr Assad, providing air cover for his offensive against the Islamic State group and Syrian rebels. Russian military advisers are deployed at many Syrian government facilities.
AP/Reuters
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, foreign-affairs, government-and-politics, syrian-arab-republic, russian-federation, united-states
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