The opposition Syrian National Council on Saturday accused Iran of "participation" in the bloody crackdown on protests in Syria and called on Tehran to stop supporting the Damascus regime.

"The Council condemns the participation of the Iranian regime in the massacre of Syrians who demand freedom and call on it to stop taking part in the repression of the Syrian revolution in order to protect relations between the two peoples," Samir Neshar, a member of the SNC's executive committee, said at a news conference in Istanbul.