Iran tries to prevent military strike on Syria

Iran's state TV is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani has said Iran will apply all efforts to prevent military action against the Tehran-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The report today says the remarks came late yesterday during a phone conversation between Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Rouhani was quoted as saying "military action will have a big amount of costs for the region" and "it is necessary to apply all efforts to prevent it."

According to the report, he said both Iran and Russia would work to prevent any military action against Syria and called such action an "open violation" of international laws.

While condemning chemical weapons, Rouhani was quoted as saying, "Early judgment can be dangerous, before clarification" of allegations that Syria used such weapons.