Just days before the chemical attack, US envoy to the U.N. Nikki Haley and Tillerson both had indicated that removing Assad from power was no longer a USA priority.
In a phone call with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the strike Friday a "blatant violation" of Syrian sovereignty, Syrian state media reported.
In a significant shift from the White House's stance on the Syrian president - just a week ago the Trump administration acknowledged the "political reality" of Assad remaining in power - Ms Haley said that Mr Assad must go.
US President Donald Trump is considering implementing new sanctions against Russian Federation and Iran, the US ambassador to UN, Nikki Haley has said in an interview with CNN. "We don't see a peaceful Syria with Assad in there", Haley said on CNN.
"I think the real failure here has been Russia's failure to live up to its commitments under the chemical weapons agreements that were entered into in 2013", Tillerson said on ABC's This Week.
"Other than that, there is no change to our military posture", he said.
The comments from Tillerson and Haley suggested that the airstrikes Trump ordered punishing Assad for using chemical weapons would not lead to any immediate change in US strategy toward Syria.
Tillerson said the United States is hopeful it can help bring parties together to begin the process of hammering out a political solution.
The American strikes "aim at slowing the victories of the Syrian army and its allies, and reinforcing terrorist groups", they said in a statement.
Haley noted that ousting Assad was not the US's only priority. The Republican criticized calls by his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for the establishment of a no-fly zone and "safe zones" to protect non-combatants. Should the U.S. use its airpower to try and enforce a no-fly zone, it could lead to an outbreak of hostilities between the two countries - a worrying and not completely unrealistic prospect when two leaders as trigger-happy as Trump and Vladimir Putin are at the helm.
Putin: Trust With US Deteriorated After Trump Took Office
On April 4, the Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces reported a chemical weapon attack in Idlib. The Kremlin had previously declined to confirm Putin would meet Tillerson, reflecting tensions over the US strike on Syria.
Trump acts decisively in Syria: Now what?
Pin that infamous inaction on former President Barack Obama, who drew a "red line" that he said Assad could not cross - then regrettably gave Assad a pass. Obama called off threatened air strikes when he struck a deal with Russian Federation, an ally of Assad, to remove Assad's stockpiles of chemical weapons.
He attributed the chemical attack in Syria "in large measure" to a "failure on Russia's part to achieve its commitment to the worldwide community".
Russian Federation swiftly condemned last week's attack.
The United States launched missile strikes on Syrian government targets in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons, the first such intervention by America.
The attack that was believed to have been carried out by Russian aircraft killed at least 18 people, including five children, said the Observatory.
"Once the ISIS threat has been reduced or eliminated, I think we can turn our attention directly to stabilising the situation in Syria", he told CBS television's "Face the Nation" in a clip released ahead of its air time. "In fact, we were prepared to do more two days ago", McMaster said.
North Korea denounced the U.S. attack, calling it an "intolerable act of aggression" that "proves a million times over" that Pyongyang was right to strengthen its nuclear programme.
The sheer magnitude of that means it is more likely that the U.S. military action will remain a limited strike to punish Assad over the chemical attack. McCain said taking action was "very important", and he was told there were some recommendations to take out "all six places" where the Syrian Air Force operates. "It's not going to work", Rubio said.
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