According to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, the April 4 suspected chemical attack on Khan Shiekhoun in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syria, was fabricated.
In an exclusive interview with AFP news agency, Assad explains that the attack was part of a planned campaign which came as a pretext for the American retaliatory missile strike.
"To us, it is 100 percent fabrication," he says, speaking of the attack.
He then goes on to question the entire attack saying that "it's not clear whether it happened or not," and adding that the Syrian government gave up the country's chemical arsenals three years ago and had never used them in its history.
During the interview, Assad also labels widely circulated videos of the chemical attack victims as "fake."
"How can you verify a video, you have a lot of fake videos now," he says, adding that there is no proof that children seen in online social media posts were "killed in Khan Sheikhoun," and no evidence that they had even died at all.
A chemical attack that was allegedly carried out by the Syrian government on April 4, led to global outcry, with the U.S. and other countries blaming Assad's regime for it.
The Syrian government has vehemently denied the allegations made against it.
The attack on Khan Sheikhoun, left at least 90 people dead, including 30 children, according to Reuters.
It eventually led the U.S. to launch its first air strikes on the country since the beginning of the Syrian war, targeting the Shayrat base, near the city of Homs.
When announcing the strikes, U.S. president Donald Trump described the suspected chemical attack as "very barbaric" and said the decision would "prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," The New York Times reported.
The world was divided over the U.S. military strike, and while many governments supported it, others condemned the move.