President Donald Trump condemned the reported chemical weapons attack in Syria, promising an administration response in the next 24-48 hours.
“It was atrocious. It was horrible,” Trump said. “This is about humanity and it can’t be allowed to happen.”
The president made his remarks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Monday.
Trump said that the United States would continue investigating Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s role in the attacks as well as his allies.
“If it’s the Russians, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out,” he told reporters.
Trump described the attack as a “barbaric act” and questioned why Syria refused to allow investigators into the country if Assad denied that his government was the source of the attack.
He confirmed that military action in response to the attack was not off the table in his discussions of how to respond.
“Nothing is off the table … but the generals will make a decision in the next 24 hours,” Trump said.