Iran threatens Arab league over Syrian dictatorship

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi warned against "dire consequences of change in Syria's government," the English language satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Syria has highly-sensitive neighbors and therefore (any) change in Syria will not bring good influence to anyone and can create serious regional crisis which could spread beyond the region, said the foreign minister.

Salehi urged governments in the region, especially Syria, to be responsive to the legitimate demands of their nations, and warned them against the interference of foreign countries in the internal affairs, according to the report.

"We believe developments in the regional countries stem from dissatisfaction and unhappiness among the people," he added.

Salehi said Saturday Washington's demand for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is "insolent" and against international conventions.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama urged Bashar al- Assad to step down.

"Syria is an independent country. International conventions do not allow (other) countries to adopt an interfering stance towards another country," Salehi was quoted by Press TV as saying.

"The U.S. still considers itself the world's police," Salehi said.

Syria has been in unrest since mid-March when anti-government protests broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities.

The Syrian authorities blamed the unrest on "armed groups and foreign conspiracy," and stressed that it would track down gunmen who have intimidated the people and damaged public and private properties.