BEIRUT (AP):

The international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it was sending a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected chemical gas attack took place over the weekend, following a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers that appeared to be aimed at averting punitive Western military action.

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would delay or prevent a U.S. strike in Syria. President Donald Trump has vowed to respond "forcefully" to Saturday's attack on civilians in the town of Douma, hours before rebels agreed to surrender it, and warned that Russia or any other nation found to share responsibility will "pay a price."

In a statement, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding mission was "preparing to deploy to Syria shortly," though it did not give a more precise timetable on when the inspectors would arrive.

The incident has sparked international outrage and ratcheted up tensions in the already volatile Mideast, raising the specter of possible imminent American retaliation amid Russia's warnings against any such action, and denials that any chemical weapons attack took place.

Adding to the tensions, Iran, a strong ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, threatened to respond to an airstrike on a Syrian military base on Monday that the Syrian government, Russia and Iran have blamed on Israel.

Seven Iranians were among the estimated 14 people killed in the missile strike, and a senior Iranian official visiting Damascus said the attack "will not remain unanswered."

Iran is one of Assad's strongest backers and has sent thousands of troops and allied militiamen to support his forces.