Britain ready for military action in days as cabinet supports May

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump held a meeting Thursday afternoon with his team to discuss the situation.

Earlier on Thursday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned the West against attacking Syria, saying accusations about the suspected chemical attack on Douma were "fabricated".

Moscow on Thursday called on the West to "seriously consider" the consequences of threats against Syria after the United States and France said they would respond to an alleged chemical attack.

"We're having a number of meetings today, we'll see what happens, we're obviously looking at that very closely", he told lawmakers and governors in the Cabinet Room.

May would not seek prior parliamentary approval because she favoured taking action soon, the BBC said without citing its sources.

America is moving naval assets towards the Mediterranean and has already deployed them within missile range of Syria.

"The immediate priority is to avert the danger of war", said Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia following closed-door Security Council talks, refusing to exclude the possibility of US-Russian clashes.

Asked if he was referring to war between the U.S. and Russian Federation, he said: "We can not exclude any possibilities unfortunately".

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said Thursday President Donald Trump has yet to decide on whether he will pursue military action in Syria.

The U.S., France and Britain have been in extensive consultations about launching a military strike as early as the end of this week, U.S. officials have said.

The UN Security Council, tasked with maintaining worldwide peace and security, has been riven, with Moscow virulently denying the Douma attack took place, or postulating that it was carried out by rebels.

Al-Jaafari was quoted by SANA news agency as saying that the Syrian government was ready to facilitate the teams' entry into any point in Douma, Eastern Ghouta's largest town.

In Paris, France's Emmanuel Macron upped the pressure on Moscow by stating he had "proof" that the Assad's regime had used chemical weapons, and vowing a response "at a time of our choosing".

Prime Minister Theresa May was holding an emergency cabinet to discuss joining mooted strikes by the U.S. and allies, as rival politicians and some Conservative colleagues called for a parliamentary vote before any British involvement.

The statement made no specific reference to military action. United States lawmakers questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to order strikes without Congressional approval and opposition parties voiced concern.

In April a year ago Trump ordered Tomahawk strikes on the Shayrat Airbase in response to a similar chemical weapons attack on rebel-held Khan Sheikhun.

"So striking at Syria is not a good solution, but doing nothing after the use of chemical weapons is even worse", he said. British officials said up to 75 people were killed.

"Japan can not make a judgment on whether Assad's government forces really used chemical weapons", a senior Foreign Ministry official said of the latest attack. "People started shouting in the streets, 'Chemicals!"