The Free Syrian Army has captured some Iranians near Damascus and claims they are fighters
Iran says they are pilgrims.
Assad's ally Hamas has launched against its neighbours the biggest and deadliest attack for decades.
(I hope that is not too Zionist for anyone.)

This 2011 UK government report gives the lie to Jim's claim that UK policy was soft on Assad in February 2012.

In August (2011), Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy condemned the continuing violence and stated that President Assad had lost legitimacy and should step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people. However, President Assad and his security forces ignored all calls for an end to violence. They continued to repress civilians in an effort to hold on to power.

The UK is at the forefront of international efforts to end the crisis in Syria. In 2011, we worked within the EU to impose sanctions targeting Syrian regime figures responsible for human rights violations. We supported three UN Human Rights Council Special Sessions on Syria, assisted the UN-mandated commission of inquiry and raised concerns in the UN Security Council and General Assembly. We supported the Arab League's efforts to put pressure on the Syrian government to end the violence. The UK has regularly raised our long-standing concerns over human rights with the Syrian government in recent years. As the situation deteriorated dramatically in 2011, opportunities for direct engagement became increasingly limited. But at every opportunity, UK officials raised with Syrian government representatives our concerns about human rights. We also funded training for Syrian activists to help them document human rights violations to support accountability.