U.S. Attack Would Spark ‘Ball of Fire’ in ‘Whole Middle East,’ Syrian Official Warns

The Syrian government warned the United States not to launch any military action against Damascus over an alleged chemical attack, saying such a move would set the Middle East ablaze.

“The basic repercussion would be a ball of fire that would burn not only Syria but the whole Middle East,” said Syria’s Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi in an interview with Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV, dismissing the likelihood of American military intervention. “An attack on Syria would be no easy trip.”

The Syrian government also accused rebels of using chemical weapons Saturday. The accusations by the regime of President Bashar Assad against opposition forces came as an international aid group said it has tallied 355 deaths from a purported chemical weapons attack on Wednesday in a suburb of the Syrian capital known as Ghouta.

Syria is intertwined in alliances with Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militant groups. The country also borders its longtime foe and U.S. ally Israel, making the fallout from military action unpredictable.

Violence in Syria has already spilled over the past year to Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters have joined the combat alongside Assad’s forces.

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