‘Expect everything’ if you attack Syria: Assad to US

Assad also said he had no knowledge of the deadly chemical attack allegedly carried out by his own military and criticised US Secretary of State John Kerry for making the charges without “a single shred” of evidence.

Related:Washington warns Assad over \’undeniable\’ chemical weapons attack

In a clear reference to his allies in Iran and the Islamic militant group Hezbollah,Assad warned that his government is “not the only player in this region.”

Related:UN disarmament chief arrives in Syria,to press for chemical weapons inquiry

“You have different parties,you have different factions,you have different ideology. You have everything in this region now,” said Assad,who has been accused by the White House of killing 1,400 of his own people in an August 21 chemical weapons attack on the Damascus suburbs.

Asked whether any retaliation for US strikes could include the use of chemical weapons,Assad — whose government has never confirmed officially that it even has chemical weapons — told CBS News that it would depend “if the rebels or the terrorists in this region or any other group have it. It could happen,I don’t know. I am not fortune teller.”

Assad’s warning comes comes at the start of a pivotal week for US President Barack Obama. The Senate is expected to take up the resolution after returning from its month-long summer recess today and Obama does a round of interviews with the major American broadcast and cable news outlets.

Obama has blamed Assad’s government for the chemical attack in Damascus’ eastern Ghouta suburbs on opposition forces which have been battling to topple him from power for more than two years.

The Syrian president denied using chemical weapons against his own people as alleged by the US and other Western powers.

“We’re not in the area where the alleged chemical attack was happened,as is alleged. We’re not sure that anything happened,” Assad insisted. “Our soldiers in another area were attacked chemically,our soldiers. They went to the hospital,as casualties because of chemical weapons. But in the area where they said the government used chemical weapons,we only had video and we only have pictures and allegations. We’re not there. Our forces — our police,our institutions — don’t exist. How can you talk about what happened if you don’t have evidences?”

Assad emphatically denied the charge,and pointed to Russian evidence claiming the contrary. He went on to compare Kerry’s claims to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

“He presented his confidence and he presented his convictions,” Assad said of Kerry. “It’s not about confidence,it’s about evidence. In this case,Kerry didn’t even present any evidence. He talks,’we have evidence,’ and he didn’t present anything,not yet. Nothing so far,not a single shred of evidence.”

Obama’s plans for a military strike against the Assad regime suffered a setback last week when his ally Prime Minister David Cameron’s resolution seeking authorisation for action suffered a shock defeat in the British Parliament.

Many world leaders at the G20 summit in Russia last week also did not agree with Obama’s plans for a strike.

Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin could not reach consensus when they met for “candid and constructive” talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

While the White House believes an endorsement from the Senate could be within reach,the passage of the Syria resolution in the Republican-led House is likely to be even harder.

A Washington Post survey said 224 of the current 433 members of the House were either “no” or “leaning no” on military action as of Friday,while 184 were undecided and just 25 were backing a strike.

Many US politicians remain concerned that military action could draw the nation into a prolonged war and spark broader hostilities in the region.

The Obama administration is trying everything to garner support for the strikes both at home and abroad. Kerry has already toured many EU countries to seek support.

After meeting Kerry,Hague said that Washington had the “full diplomatic support of the United Kingdom” even though it will not take part in military action.

Even as Russia and China oppose unilateral action outside UN’s mandate,France has stood beside the US,calling for strong action against Syria.