This is not the first chemical attack that the Syrian Regime and its allies in Iran and Russia have launched on the unarmed people living in rebel-held areas of Syria and, if not dealt with, it won’t be the last.

Human rights activist and former Iranian political prisoner Hamid Bahrami wrote on Al Arabiya: “How [far] is the international community prepared to go in its appeasement of Assad, the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and Putin?”

What can the world do?

The international community can stand up for human rights in Syria – and by extension in Iran – by imposing strict sanctions on the Iranian Regime.

The Iranian Regime has been funding the Syrian Regime to the tune of billions of dollars per year in order to help Bashar Assad crush his political opposition. By placing sanctions on Iran, the international community can stop the ever-present flow of money into Syria and help to prevent another tragedy like this from happening.

There should be no doubt that this chemical attack was funded by the Iranian Regime; Assad’s forces would have folded years ago if not for Iran’s help. If not for Iran, we may never have seen these egregious crimes against humanity unfolding.

If the world does not act now, then the situation will only get worse.

General Jack Kean, the former vice chief of staff of the US Army, warned: “War is on the horizon here because of Russian and Iranian action in Syria.”

This chemical attack happened just as Donald Trump’s new National Security Adviser John Bolton was due to start. This is no coincidence and Bahrami believes that this is a test by Iran and their allies to see what the US will do.

Bahrami wrote: “The West should form a military coalition with its Arab allies to target both Assad regime and the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)] military bases in Syria. This crucial action will change the balance on the ground in favour of ending this crisis in the Middle East.”

Trump and Bolton have called out former President Barack Obama for a failed Syria policy, but their job is to change the US policy on Syria in order to save lives and hold the war criminals to account.