US launches missile attack on Syria airbase
US warships fired almost 60 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield early on Friday in response to what President Donald Trump said was a "barbaric" chemical attack by the Damascus government.
The target was the Shayrat airfield near Homs in western Syria, where US officials said a suspected sarin gas attack was launched on Tuesday that reportedly killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province.
In a televised address overnight, Trump said there was “no dispute” that President Bashar al-Assad's regime used banned weapons and so he ordered a targeted strike on the airfield from where the chemical attack was launched.
"It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," Trump said.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the offensive did not signal a shift towards further military action against Assad. It was described by one official as a “one-off”, while the Pentagon said the strike “was intended to deter the regime from using chemical weapons again”.
Assad's government has denied any use of chemical weapons and state media on Friday described the US strike as an "act of aggression".
The Kremlin, a supporter of Assad's regime, says the missile strike on Syria was "aggression against sovereign state in violation of international law" and later called for a meeting of the UN security council to discuss the US strikes. Russia said none of their personnel were struck by US missiles in Syria, according to news agency Interfax.
A spokesman for the British government said it "fully supports" US strikes on Syria. Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Turkey were among other nations supporting the attack.
The air strike came during a two-day summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with trade and North Korea's military programme on the agenda.
China, which alongside Russia has repeatedly blocked UN resolutions against the Assad regime, condemned the US use of force. But a foreign ministry spokesperson also said Beijing opposed “the use of chemical weapons by any country, organisation or individual, in any circumstance and for any purpose”.
The missiles were launched from US navy destroyers USS Ross and Porter in the eastern Mediterranean and struck the airfield at around 0345 local time.
Financial reaction
The escalating of geopolitical tension lifted demand for safe havens assets, pushing bonds, gold and silver and both the Japanese yen and Swiss Franc higher, while the added fears for Middle Eastern instability sent crude oil prices to one-month highs.
"The military action adds a complexity to geopolitics that wasn’t there before given Russia’s support for Syria and Trumps pre-election pledges to try and repair relations with Putin," said analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.
He said the US would now appear to be on a collision course with Russia as Tillerson said there was no prospect that Assad could remain Syria’s leader in light of the use of chemical weapons.
Konstantinos Anthis at ADS Securities said Friday's monthly US non-farm payrolls report has historically been so powerful a force that it could still hold sway over markets on a day when geopolitical tension had been ramped sky high.
"Overnight US missile strikes on Syria are driving investors to seek refuge in safe haven instruments: the yen and gold further appreciated against the dollar but a strong NFP report today might allow for a swift recovery of the US currency," he said.
"Even with news from Syria and the Trump-Xi meeting at Mar-a-Lago, the report could impact currencies," Anthis added, with a strong report reinforcing the view that there will be multiple US interest rate hikes this year.
Naeem Aslam at Think Markets said while traders were feeling nervous as many were already adjusting to the situation.
"Perhaps what investors are thinking is that there may not be any reason to panic yet as long as this conflict is contained," he said. "But the fact remains that Trump is unreliable and he takes unilateral actions which are equal to policy uncertainty creating more confusion for investors."
The increased interest for gold could push the yellow metal above $1,300, he said.