US Warns Assad: No Impunity for Users of Chemical Weapons

A road sign in Syria's Khan Sheikhoun. (AFP)
A road sign in Syria's Khan Sheikhoun. (AFP)
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US Warns Assad: No Impunity for Users of Chemical Weapons

A road sign in Syria's Khan Sheikhoun. (AFP)
A road sign in Syria's Khan Sheikhoun. (AFP)

The United States slammed on Friday the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, warning that it will hold him to account for the chemical attacks it had launched during the conflict that erupted in 2011.

“In January, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found the Assad regime responsible for the chemical attack on Douma in 2018 that killed 43, just as it was for the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun six years ago this week which killed nearly 100. There can be no impunity for users of chemical weapons,” the US Embassy in Syria tweeted.

“No amount of Russian and regime disinformation can refute the facts and the thorough analysis of expert OPCW investigators. We know what happened in Douma, Khan Sheikhoun, and elsewhere in Syria, and we will continue to seek accountability for those responsible.”

The government has repeatedly denied that it had used chemical weapons during the war.

In wake of the Ghouta attack in 2013, it agreed to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal under a Russian-sponsored deal.

Last week, the US imposed sanctions against two members of the Assad family for their role in the smuggling of Captagon narcotics.

The sanctions, imposed in coordination between the US and the UK, targeted Samer Kamal al-Assad and Wassim Badi al-Assad.

In 2020, 84 million Captagon pills were produced at a factory owned by Samer in Latakia, the US Treasury said.

“Syria has become a global leader in the production of highly addictive Captagon, much of which is trafficked through Lebanon,” said Treasury official Andrea Gacki.

The stimulant has spawned an illegal $10 billion industry.



Head of Iran Top Security Body Heads to Iraq, Lebanon

FILED - 06 February 2009, Bavaria, Munich: Ali Larijani, then chairman of the Iranian parliament, speaks at the 45th Munich Security Conference in Munich. Photo: Andreas Gebert/dpa
FILED - 06 February 2009, Bavaria, Munich: Ali Larijani, then chairman of the Iranian parliament, speaks at the 45th Munich Security Conference in Munich. Photo: Andreas Gebert/dpa
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Head of Iran Top Security Body Heads to Iraq, Lebanon

FILED - 06 February 2009, Bavaria, Munich: Ali Larijani, then chairman of the Iranian parliament, speaks at the 45th Munich Security Conference in Munich. Photo: Andreas Gebert/dpa
FILED - 06 February 2009, Bavaria, Munich: Ali Larijani, then chairman of the Iranian parliament, speaks at the 45th Munich Security Conference in Munich. Photo: Andreas Gebert/dpa

The head of Iran's top security body, Ali Larijani, will visit Iraq on Monday before heading to Lebanon, where the government has approved a plan to disarm Tehran's ally Hezbollah, state media said.

"Ali Larijani departs today (Monday) for Iraq and then Lebanon on a three-day visit, his first foreign trip since taking office last week," state television reported.

Larijani will sign a bilateral security agreement in Iraq before heading to Lebanon, where he will meet senior Lebanese officials and figures, AFP said.

His trip to Lebanon comes after Tehran expressed strong opposition to a Lebanese government plan to disarm Hezbollah, a stance condemned by Beirut as a "flagrant and unacceptable interference".

"Our cooperation with the Lebanese government is long and deep. We consult on various regional issues. In this particular context, we are talking to Lebanese officials and influential figures in Lebanon," Larijani told state TV before departing.

"In Lebanon, our positions are already clear. Lebanese national unity is important and must be preserved in all circumstances. Lebanon's independence is still important to us and we will contribute to it."

On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Larijani's trip "aims to contribute to the maintenance of peace in the Middle East region".

He said that Iran recognized Lebanon's "right to defend itself against the aggression of the Zionist regime (Israel)," adding that this would be "impossible without military capabilities and weapons".

On Saturday, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, described the plan to disarm Hezbollah as compliance "to the will of the United States and Israel".

The disarmament push followed last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah, which left the group, once a powerful political and military force, weakened.