Warning

Iran Docks Warships in Syria

Sends message the U.S. should not arm rebels.

Message taken. Iran warned the United States by docking two warships in a Syrian port, while saying that the U.S. should not arm the opposition to Assad. Meanwhile, Syrian troops fired on protesters in Damascus late Monday night, wounding at least four people, activists told Reuters early on Tuesday. Violence has gotten increasingly worse in the capital in the last week, undermining President Bashar al-Assad’s insistence that the 11-month uprising has been backed by “foreign terrorists” and limited mainly to the country’s provinces. Russia, China, and Iran have backed Assad’s reform plans, while the rest of the world powers are working to pressure him to step down. The Red Cross was trying to negotiate a temporary ceasefire on Monday so that it can get medical care and supplies to Syrians, particularly in the beleaguered city of Homs.