Al Arabiya, 21 Dec 2012 – Syria’s main opposition group, the National Coalition, denounced on Friday an Iranian peace initiative as a “desperate attempt to prolong the life of the regime.”

Tehran, the most powerful regional ally of the embattled Assad regime, detailed a six-point peace initiative on Sunday, according to Iranian media reports.

The plan did not envisage the fall of the regime, but instead called for “an immediate halt to violence and armed actions under the supervision of the United Nations.”

It also called for sanctions against Syria to be lifted, the start of national dialogue, the establishment of a transitional government, and free elections.

“The regime and its allies keep on launching lackluster and overdue political initiatives. The Iranian initiative represents one example of these desperate attempts to throw a lifeline to the inevitably sinking ship of the Assad regime,” the National Coalition said in a statement obtained by Al Arabiya.
“The Iranian regime refuses to believe that what is happening in Syria is a revolution whose goal is liberation from the authoritarian and oppressive regime, and that this revolution is about to achieve complete victory,” the statement added.

The National Coalition, which was formed in Qatar last month, has been recognized by dozens of states as the sole and legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
The Syrian civil war began in March 2011 as a pro-reform protest movement inspired by the Arab Spring but transformed into an armed uprising after the Assad government began brutally crushing demonstrations.
More than 44,000 people have been killed so far, monitors say.