The Trump administration appears to be using the alleged chemical weapons attack, which the US and its allies have blamed on the Assad government, to boost its military presence in Syria, Paul Antonopoulos, deputy editor of al-Masdar News, told Radio Sputnik.

"Realistically from Donald Trump's rhetoric we know that he must have had Syria always in his sights. Before the election he was focusing on [Daesh]. However, his bringing up chemical weapons attacks that occurred in 2013 and were mostly debunked shows that he always had Syria in his sights and that these latest allegations against the Syrian government are just a perfect pretext for the United States to become involved again or attempt to be involved in the Syrian War," he said.

These comments came after a toxic agent claimed nearly 80 lives and left 200 injured in the town of Khan Shaykhun located in the rebel-held province of Idlib. Opponents of President Bashar al-Assad have claimed that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) had used chemical weapons against civilians intentionally, something Syrian authorities strongly deny. No evidence has been provided to support these claims.