I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were defending themselves, but they certainly earned the right to a retaliatory strike. Whether the obvious ineffectiveness of their strike was a bug or a feature is up for debate. I, personally, think they knew what they were doing.
As for the sanctions, from US politics, there are a few countries who can never do anything correct, e. g., Iran, Cuba. And one that can do no wrong, e. g., Israel. It’s asinine, but that’s how it is.