US and British forces waging war on Iraq have no plans to take similar action against Syria or Iran, but Damascus must prove that it is not acting as a conduit for military supplies to Baghdad, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Wednesday.

"We have absolutely no plans for any military action against Iran or Syria," Straw told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel when asked about US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's recent warning to the two countries.

Last Friday, Rumsfeld warned Syria and Iran to steer clear of the Iraq war, saying that military supplies crossing from Syria were a "hostile act."

Rumsfeld said that equipment including night-vision goggles had

passed through Syria and that Tehran-backed Iraqi rebels had been seen crossing the border from Iran.

Britain has good relations with Iran which, "unlike Iraq that is a dictatorship," is "an emerging democracy and a country that deserves respect," Straw said according to a transcript of his remarks made available to AFP.

He said London was also trying hard to improve relations with Damascus, but "we in the coalition feel there is good evidence that such (military) supplies have been going through Syria and into Iraq."

"We are sharing whatever we have with the Syrian government," he added.

Asked about the role of the exiled Iraqi opposition , Straw said it would not have a "free ticket" to govern post-war Iraq.