BICOM

The Syrian regime admitted yesterday that it possesses chemical and biological weapons and threatened to use them if the country is attacked by outside forces.tinstanly

The statement — Syria’s first acknowledgment that the country possesses weapons of mass destruction — suggests President Bashar Assad regime will continue the fight to remain in power, regardless of the cost.

During a televised news conference on Monday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi stressed that the weapons are secure and would be used only in the case of an external attack.

‘‘No chemical or biological weapons will ever be used, and I repeat, will never be used, during the crisis in Syria no matter what the developments inside Syria,’’ he said. ‘‘All of these types of weapons are in storage and under security and the direct supervision of the Syrian armed forces and will never be used unless Syria is exposed to external aggression.’’

In response, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, ‘‘It would be reprehensible if anybody in Syria is contemplating use of such weapons of mass destruction like chemical weapons.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that his country would take military action to prevent Syria’s chemical weapons and Scud missiles falling into the hands of the Shia militant Islamic group Hezbollah if the regime collapsed. “It’s like al-Qaeda having chemical weapons. It’s something that is not acceptable to us. This is something we will have to act to stop if the need arises,” he said.

Briefing journalists yesterday, BICOM senior visiting fellow Brig. Gen. (Res.) Michael Herzog said the leakage of Syrian strategic weapons to Hezbollah was a key concern for Israel, alongside the possibility that the Assad regime might strike out against Israel as a last ditch act if the regime believes it is about to fall. According to Herzog, “Israel’s concern is focused on strategic weapons falling into the hands of Hezbollah … and finding their way to Lebanon. And we are talking about chemical weapons, ground to ground missiles, ground to air missiles and other sophisticated weapons which could fall into Hezbollah’s hands and tip the balance in Lebanon. In that case I think it is likely that Israel will intervene one way or another.”

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday that ‘‘any possible use of these kinds of weapons would be completely unacceptable. The Syrian regime has a responsibility to the world, has a responsibility first and foremost to its own citizens, to protect and safeguard those weapons,’’ she said, adding that Washington was working with allies to monitor the situation.

Syria is widely believed to have one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, which includes nerve agents as well as mustard gas and Scud missiles capable of delivering these lethal chemicals.