TEHERAN, August 25 (Itar-Tass) - U.S. will face dire consequences if it crosses the ‘red line’ in its actions against Syria, General Masoud Jazayeri, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces said Sunday.
“The U.S. definitely knows where the ‘red line’ as regards the relationship with Syria lies and any attempt to trespass it will bring on the consequences that will be very serious for the White House,” he said in an interview with the Fars news agency.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said earlier in the day during a visit to Malaysia that the Pentagon was prepared for a military intervention in Syria if need be.
He said the White House had asked the Department of Defense to consider various lines of action that might suit different situations and the U.S. military are ready now to choose any of them.
Hagel refused to say, which specific actions the U.S. might undertake in Syria, since many factors are to be pondered before one or another specific decision is taken. The list of factors includes the intelligence data on the situation in Syria and the legal aspects of international support for any armed response to the developments unfolding there.
Hagel also said he maintains permanent close contacts with Washington as regards the situation in Syria although he is making a week-long tour of Southeast Asia.