( CNN ) -- [ Breaking news update at 11:50 p.m. Thursday ] . The United States respects the vote by the British parliament not to participate in a potential military action against Syria , U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Friday . `` Every nation has a responsibility to make their own decisions , and we respect that of any nation , '' he told journalists in Manila , the Philippines . In spite of the British decision , it remains the goal of the Obama administration that any decision be `` an international collaboration , '' he said . [ Original story , posted at 10:36 p.m. Thursday ] . ( CNN ) The United States may have to take action against Syria without the support of one of its staunchest allies , U.S. officials said Thursday after British lawmakers voted down a proposal for military action . Washington will continue to consult with Britain , but `` President Obama 's decision-making will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States , '' National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement issued Thursday evening . The reaction followed news the House of Commons rebuffed Prime Minister David Cameron 's call for a strong response to claims Syria used chemical weapons against its own people , raising questions about what , if any , timeline the United States may follow for a possible strike . Obama has not spelled out what steps the United States will take in response to last week 's reported attack against civilians in a Damascus suburb , allegedly leaving hundreds dead . `` He believes that there are core interests at stake for the United States and that countries who violate international norms regarding chemical weapons need to be held accountable , '' Hayden said . Unilateral action was `` a possibility '' following the results of the late-night Parliament vote in London , a senior U.S. official , speaking on condition of anonymity , told CNN . `` We care what they think . We value the process . But we 're going to make the decision we need to make , '' the official said . The vote among UK lawmakers came after a long day of debate , and it appeared to catch Cameron and his supporters by surprise . For days , the prime minister has been sounding a call for action , lending support to talk of a U.S.- or Western-led strike against Syria . `` I strongly believe in the need for a tough response to the use of chemical weapons , but I also believe in respecting the will of this House of Commons , '' the prime minister said . `` I get that and the government will act accordingly , '' he said . The head of the opposition Labour Party , Ed Miliband , called Cameron 's call for action `` cavalier and reckless . '' `` I think today the House of Commons spoke for the British people who said they did n't want a rush to war , and I was determined we learned the lessons of Iraq and I 'm glad we 've made the prime minister see sense this evening , '' he told Press Association . Iran : U.S. military action in Syria would spark 'disaster ' At the United Nations , a closed-door Security Council meeting ended with no agreement on a resolution to address the growing crisis in Syria , a Western diplomat told CNN 's Nick Paton Walsh on condition of anonymity . `` It was clear there was no meeting of minds , and no agreement on the text . It is clear that our approaches are very different and we are taking stock ( of the next steps ) , '' the diplomat said of the session , which was called by Syria 's longtime ally , Russia . The members of the Security Council expect U.N. weapons inspectors to brief Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon shortly after they depart Syria on Saturday . Ban , in turn , will swiftly brief the Security Council on the findings , the diplomat said . China , which along with Russia has staunchly opposed any military intervention in Syria , called for U.N. weapons inspectors to be allowed to complete their investigation . `` China calls on parties concerned to exercise restraints and calmness , adhering to the right track of political solution , '' Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement . Britain 's Joint Intelligence Committee has concluded it was `` highly likely '' that Syrian government forces used poison gas outside Damascus last week in an attack that killed at least 350 people , according to a summary of the committee 's findings released Thursday . Speaking in the House of Commons before the vote , Cameron said failure to respond would undo `` decades of painstaking work '' to prevent such weapons from being unleashed . `` The global consensus against the use of chemical weapons will be fatally unraveled , '' he said . `` A 100-year taboo will have been breached . '' In Washington , White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama was still weighing a potential response , but said his administration was working on a `` compressed timeline . '' Why Russia , Iran and China are standing by Assad . U.N. weapons inspectors are now in Syria trying to confirm the use of chemical weapons . The inspectors are expected to leave the country by Saturday morning , Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said . Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 's government denies using the weapons against opposition forces and says its troops were the victims , not perpetrators , of recent gas attacks ; but both British and U.S. officials say the rebels have no capability to use poison gas on the scale of the August 21 attack near Damascus , which opposition sources said killed more than 1,300 . `` There is no credible intelligence or other evidence to substantiate the claims or the possession of CW by the opposition , '' Britain 's Joint Intelligence Committee concluded in a document released Thursday . `` The JIC has therefore concluded that there are no plausible alternative scenarios to regime responsibility . '' Chemical weapons in Syria : How did we get here ? Cameron said the debate was not about regime change or invasion . And he said his government would not act without first hearing from the U.N. inspectors , giving the world body a chance to weigh in and giving Parliament another chance to vote . But the prime minister said failing to act would give al-Assad the unmistakable signal that he could use poison gas `` with impunity . '' The British dossier on Syria also concluded the government had used chemical weapons on 14 previous occasions , and Cameron said al-Assad stepped up their use last week as a sort of test for the world . The government said it could justify the use of force against Syria on humanitarian grounds , to stop the suffering , even if the United Nations declined to authorize a strike . `` The aim is to relieve humanitarian suffering by deterring or disrupting the further use of chemical weapons , '' the government said . UK Government 's legal position on Syrian regime 's chemical weapon use . Syria 's government offered its own arguments against such an intervention . In an open letter to British lawmakers , the speaker of Syria 's parliament riffed on British literary hero William Shakespeare , saying : `` If you bomb us , shall we not bleed ? '' But in a veiled warning to the United Kingdom , the letter also invoked Iraq , a conflict justified on the grounds that Iraq had amassed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and was working toward a nuclear bomb -- claims that were discovered to have been false after the 2003 invasion . `` Those who want to send others to fight will talk in the Commons of the casualties in the Syrian conflict . But before you rush over the cliffs of war , would it not be wise to pause ? Remember the thousands of British soldiers killed and maimed in Afghanistan and Iraq , not to mention the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead , both in the war and in the continuing chaos . '' British Commons Speaker John Bercow published the letter . And al-Assad has vowed to defend his country against any outside attack . `` The threats of launching an aggression against Syria will increase its commitments to its rooted principles and its independent decision that originated from the will of its people , and Syria will defend itself against any aggression , '' the Syrian president said Thursday in a speech to Yemeni politicians . Syria : Who wants what after chemical weapons horror . Obama faces calls for American vote on force . Across the Atlantic , Obama said in a televised interview Wednesday that he has no doubt Syria used chemical weapons on its own people . He said government claims that the opposition used them were impossible . `` We do not believe that , given the delivery systems , using rockets , that the opposition could have carried out these attacks . We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out . And if that 's so , then there need to be international consequences , '' he said on `` PBS NewsHour '' Wednesday . Obama said that he has not made a decision about whether to conduct a military strike in Syria . A senior administration official said the United States would continue to consult with British officials , but declined to say if the slowdown in London would affect U.S. decision-making on Syria . The president is facing doubts at home as well : More than 160 members of Congress , including 63 Democrats , have now signed letters calling for either a vote or at least a `` full debate '' before any U.S. action . Ghitis : 5 reasons U.S. must intervene in Syria . The author of one of those letters , Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California , said Obama should seek `` an affirmative decision of Congress '' before committing American forces . More than 90 members of Congress , most of them Republican , signed another letter by GOP Rep. Scott Rigell of Virginia . That letter urged Obama `` to consult and receive authorization '' before authorizing any such military action . Congress is currently in recess until September 9 . Opinion : Why western intervention in Syria will leave chaos .
The United States respects the vote by the British not to participate in a potential military strike . UK vote raises questions about effect on a possible U.S. timeline . It 's `` highly likely '' Syria 's regime is responsible for the chemical weapons attack , UK says . Remember war dead before rushing to strike us , Syria warns British parliament .