Saying that there was no "war plan" to attack other countries, the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, sought yesterday to reduce widespread apprehensions that US military ambitions in the Middle East extended beyond Iraq.
Iraq was a unique case that required US military action, Mr Powell said, and while the US had concerns about Syria, there was no list and "no war plan to go and attack someone else".
Washington has been stepping up pressure on Syria since March 28th when the Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, accused Iraq's neighbour of trafficking military supplies to Baghdad.
Since the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein last week, the US has warned Syria against giving refuge or safe passage to fleeing Iraqi leaders in the hope of capturing them inside Iraq.
On Monday Mr Rumsfeld raised the stakes when he resurrected old US charges that Syria was developing chemical weapons and supporting terrorist organisations, the reasons cited by the US for attacking the Iraq.
However, the White House has reportedly blocked the development of a war plan by the Pentagon against Syria after protests from Britain and other leaders.
Diplomats say the heightened US rhetoric is aimed chiefly at pressuring Damascus to stop aiding anti-Israeli militant groups such as Hamas and Hizbullah.
Syria yesterday denounced US accusations as threats and falsifications designed to further Israeli interests and said it was in favour of a ban on weapons of mass destruction in all countries in the region, including Israel, which has nuclear weapons.
Analysts say that there is no legal basis for forcing Syria to give up its chemical weapons programme, reported first in 1998 by the Clinton administration, as it has not signed the UN treaty banning such weapons.
Mr Powell said the US would examine diplomatic, economic and other measures to pressurise Syria to co-operate with US forces.
American troops have already shut down a two-year-old pipeline allegedly used for illegal oil shipments from Iraq to Syria, and in the US Congress a Syria Accountability Act has been introduced calling for a ban on US imports and private investment.
While maintaining diplomatic relations with Damascus, the US has imposed a variety of sanctions against Syria since it was listed as a state supporting international terrorism in 1979.
US aid was stopped in 1981 and bilateral trade restricted. Syria, a 90 per cent Arab country with a population of 17 million, today ranks only 99th as a trading partner of the US.
The US in recent years has encouraged Syria to play a positive role in the Arab-Israeli peace process, and relations with the US improved when Damascus co-operated in the war against al-Qaeda and urged Hizbullah to reduce attacks on Israeli targets. Syria backed UN Resolution 1441 sending inspectors back to Baghdad, but has opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, has said Syria, facing stepped-up US pressure, is a friend of his country and would not be the target of any military campaign. His comments followed US accusations that Syria was harbouring fugitive Iraqi leaders, developing chemical weapons and supporting terrorism.
"Syria has been and will be a friend of Spain. It will not be the target of any war actions," said Aznar, one of the staunchest supporters of the US-led war in Iraq.