Syria's Assad appears on state TV

BEIRUT -- President Bashar Assad made his first appearance on Syria's state TV in nearly three weeks Tuesday in a show of solidarity with a senior Iranian envoy, even as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged stepped-up international planning for the regime's collapse.

The contrasts were vivid: Assad and Iran's Saeed Jalili vowing to defeat the rebels and their backers, while Clinton said Assad's regime was unraveling, with high-level defections such as his prime minister's switch to the rebel side.

Assad, seen on TV for the first time since a July 18 bombing in Damascus killed four of his top security officials, used Jalili's visit to portray a sense of command and vowed to fight his opponents "relentlessly."

Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, promised Iran would stand by Syria against its international "enemies," a clear reference to the rebels' Western backers and others such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Jalili's mission appeared to reflect Iran's efforts to reassure Syria of its backing and ease speculation that Tehran also could be making contingencies for Assad's possible fall.

Clinton, in South Africa, described Assad's regime as splintering from Monday's defection of Prime Minister Riad Hijab and other military and political figures breaking away in recent months. She urged international leaders to work on a "good transition plan" to try to keep Syria from collapsing into more chaos after Assad.

A growing humanitarian crisis is already taking hold.

More than 1,300 Syrians fled to Turkey yesterday as rebels tried to expand their hold inside Aleppo againsttwo weeks of withering counterattacks by Assad's troops. Close to 48,000 Syrians have already taken refuge in Turkey, which has served as a staging ground for rebels. Even more have crossed into Jordan and Lebanon.