Iran's leader says Assad must keep power

Iran's president says Syrian leader Bashar Assad must remain in power to fight extremist groups like the Islamic State group, and must not be weakened.

Hassan Rouhani said in a meeting with scholars and think tank experts on Sunday evening that Iran will cooperate with any country that puts fighting and defeating "terrorism" as its top priority - but it cannot work with any government that makes a change in Syria's regime its top priority.

Rouhani's view puts Iran at odds with key nations who adopted a road map in Geneva in June 2012 that calls for the formation of a transitional government in Syria.