Iran and its militant Shi'ite Lebanese ally Hezbollah are "propping up" President Bashar al-Assad and giving him increasing support, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday, May 22, according to Reuters.

Speaking before a meeting of the Friends of Syria alliance in the Jordanian capital, Hague said Britain would urge world powers to set a date in the next few days for an international conference to try to end the two-year-old conflict engulfing Syria and threatening regional stability.