"It is not true, and we would have nothing whatever to do with an approach like that," Straw told the BBC, responding to a question about whether he feared the United States had created an impression that Syria and Iraq might be tackled after Iraq.

"It would worry me if it were true," Straw said.

Iran was in a different situation from Iraq, he said, adding that Iran is an emerging democracy and there would be no case for taking any kind of action.

Straw also urged Syria not to help Iraq by allowing supplies to move through its territory.

"It is important that Syria ensures that its territory is not used as a conduit for military supplies to the government of Iraq and I hope they are not doing so," he said.

The United States earlier said Syria, a neighbor of Iraq, was sending military equipment, including night-vision goggles, to Iraqi forces, an accusation Syria has denied.

Syria, which opposes military action against Iraq, has said it would stand by the Iraqi people who are facing an illegitimate and unjustified invasion.

Iran, also a neighbor of Iraq, has long been accused by the United States as part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Straw's comments came as Air Marshal Brian Burridge, the commander of British forces in Iraq, said Wednesday the ongoing US-led war was now entering a decisive phase with a US assault on Iraqi Republican Guard forces south of Baghdad.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2003)