Secretary of Defense Gen. James Mattis said during a Tuesday press briefing that Syria will "pay a very, very stiff price" for any future use of chemical weapons.
Responding to a question about future use of chemical weapons and the improvised explosives called "barrel bombs," Mattis made it clear that future chemical weapons attacks would be met with serious consequences from the United States.
Mattis emphasized that the chemical weapons used by the Syrian regime against civilians were against Syria's agreement with the U.S.
"I just want to say very clearly that the use of chemical weapons contrary to the Geneva convention that Syria signed up for, using chemical weapons that Syria agreed under U.N. pressure to remove from their arsenal, those chemical weapons that the Russians certified were gone – that if they use chemical weapons, they are going to pay a very, very stiff price," Mattis said.
The press conference followed the secretary of defense's Monday press release which provided further details about the tomahawk missile strike on a Syrian airfield on April 6. The strike was ordered by President Donald Trump as a response to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regime's use of the banned weapons.
The press release elaborated that "the strike resulted in the damage or destruction of fuel and ammunition sites, air defense capabilities, and 20 percent of Syria's operational aircraft."
The release also emphasized that, "the Syrian government would be ill-advised ever again to use chemical weapons."