US, UK back down from immediate strike, Assad vows "victory"

The US and UK today appeared to have backed down from an immediate punitive military strike against Syria, even as embattled President Bashar al-Assad vowed that his country would emerge "victorious" in any confrontation with America and its allies.

A strike by Western forces had appeared imminent but US allies were increasingly reluctant to act before hearing the results of a UN probe into the alleged poisonous gas attacks in the war-torn country on August 21.

President Barack Obama has said he had not yet decided whether to attack Syria in response to alleged use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, but a strike still appeared likely as the US stopped seeking a UN mandate.

"We have not yet made a decision, but the international norm against the use of chemical weapons needs to be kept in place. Hardly anybody disputes that chemical weapons were used on a large scale in Syria against civilian populations," Obama told the PBS News Hour in an interview.

British Prime Minister David Cameron backed down and agreed to delay a military attack on Syria following a growing revolt over the UK's rushed response to the crisis.

The Prime Minister has now said he will wait for a report by UN weapons inspectors before seeking the approval of MPs for "direct British involvement" in the Syrian intervention.

Downing Street said the decision to wait for the UN was based on the "deep concerns" the country still harbours over the Iraq War.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon today pleaded for more time for diplomacy and to allow UN investigators to complete their probe on suspected chemical weapons attacks. He said the investigators will leave Syria by Saturday morning.

"Diplomacy should be given a chance...Peace (should) be given a chance," Ban said in Vienna.

"The use of chemical weapons by anyone, for any reason, under any circumstances, is a crime against humanity and that must be held accountable for," he said.

Meanwhile, President Assad remained defiant amid heightened tensions, saying "Since the start of the crisis, as you know, we have waited for our true enemy to reveal itself."

"I know that your morale is good and that you are ready to face any attack and to save the homeland," Al-Akhbar newspaper quoted Assad as telling Syrian officials.

"It's a historic confrontation from which we will emerge victorious," the paper quoted him as saying.