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Burhan Ghalioun, the chairman of the Syrian National Council, told CNN in an interview airing Tuesday that Iran is "participating in suppressing the Syrian people" by backing al-Assad, whose family's 40-year regime has been a longtime Iranian ally. He also warned that the crackdown could lead to international military intervention.

"I hope that Iranians realize the importance of not compromising the Syrian-Iranian relationship by defending a regime whose own people clearly reject it and has become a regime of torture to its own people," Ghalioun said. Tehran must understand "that this is the last chance to avoid an unwanted fate to the Syrian-Iranian relationship," he said.

As for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that was allied with Syria during the years that Damascus dominated its smaller neighbor, Ghalioun said, "The Syrian people stood completely by Hezbollah once. But today, they are surprised that Hezbollah did not return the favor and support the Syrian's people struggle for freedom."