In April 2018, US-Russian relations were further exacerbated by missile strikes against the Syrian government targets following the suspected chemical attack in Douma on April 7. The countries clashed diplomatically, with Russia′s top military officials threatening to hit U.S. military targets in the event of a massive U.S.-led strike against Syria. In late May, during an interview with RT, Syria′s president Bashar al-Assad said that direct military conflict between the Russian forces and the U.S. forces in Syria had been averted in April "by the wisdom of the Russian leadership" and that the US-led missile attack against Syria would have been far more extensive had it not been for Russia′s intervention.