Assad made secret visit to Iran-run missiles developing site in Tartus: sources

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has made secret visit to a research center run by Tehran for developing long-range missiles and chemical weapons in coastal Tartus province during Eid al-Fiter holiday, well-informed sources said.

The move comes as White House accused the Assad regime on Tuesday of preparing a new chemical attack on eastern and southern Syria

The one-year-old center has been built by Iran in Wadi Jehanam, also known as the Hell Valley, the abysmal valley that separets between Hama and Tartus provinces.

The secret visit of Assad has followed a rare visit to Hama city where the Russian backed tyrant delivered Eid al-Fiter prayers, showing more confident after six years of daily bombing that claimed lives of half million Syrians.

The center is working on developing long-range missiles and it will be inaugurated by the end of the year, accordign to sources who provinced Zaman al-Wasl by photos for the site.

On Tuesday, the minister for national reconciliation denied White House allegations that it may be preparing a new chemical attack, insisting again that it has never used such arms.

Ali Haidar told The Associated Press that the White House statement foreshadowed a "diplomatic battle" that would be waged against Syria in the halls of the U.N.

The White House issued a stern warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday night, saying it had "potential" evidence that Syria was preparing for another chemical weapons attack.

A non-governmental source with close ties to the White House said the administration had received intelligence that the Syrians were mixing precursor chemicals for a possible sarin gas attack in either the east of south of the country, where government troops and their proxies have faced recent setbacks.

Assad had denied responsibility for the April 4 attack in the rebel-held Idlib province that killed dozens of people, and Russia, Assad's key backer, sided with him. Days later, President Donald Trump launched a retaliatory cruise missile strike on a Syrian government-controlled air base.