Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a defiant and at times mocking defense of his economic and political management on Wednesday in an unprecedented interrogation by a largely hostile parliament.

"So far no major violation has been proved against my government.... If you rate us at less than 100 percent, it would be unfair and cowardice," Ahmadinejad told lawmakers at the end of a near-hour long reply broadcast on state radio.

The Syrian opposition suffered on Wednesday a setback on the political front with resignations from the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella movement of anti-regime groups.

The opposition, which is heavily outgunned by the regime and has called for its fighters to be armed in the defense of civilians, was hit by resignations from SNC ranks.

Syrian forces have overrun the northwest city of Idlib and rebels have fled, an activist said Wednesday, giving sharp momentum to a push by the Damascus regime to crush an increasingly armed revolt, as 44 people were reportedly killed across the country.

"Since last night there has been no more fighting," said Noureddin al-Abdo, an activist in Idlib, confirming earlier reports by a government newspaper that Idlib had fallen after a four-day assault by regime forces.

Syria condemned on Tuesday Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip that killed 25 Palestinians, calling on world powers to act urgently to put an end to them.

Syria "roundly condemns Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and urges the international community to undertake urgent steps to put an end to these activities and to sanction those responsible," said a foreign ministry statement.

France on Tuesday said it had transferred 10 million euros ($13 million) in budget assistance to the Palestinian Authority and urged the United States and Gulf countries to also send more aid.

The assistance is aimed at helping the Palestinian Authority in its "delicate financial situation", French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement.

Tunisia's Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said on Tuesday that Syria's Bashar al-Assad would not be welcome in his country, after the Tunisian president offered the Syrian leader asylum in Tunis.

"I respect our head of state but I do not want to see Assad in our country. And if I were to encounter him, I would put him in front of a court and hand him over to the Syrian people," Jebali told the website of German news weekly Der Spiegel.

The suspected arsonist behind a deadly fire at a Brussels mosque said Tuesday he set the Shiite place of worship ablaze to scare the community he blames for the violence in Syria, officials said.

Belgium's Muslim community was in shock a day after the attack that left an imam dead.

At least 48 persons were reported killed in violence across Syria on Tuesday, including 25 members of the security forces, as a pro-government daily said the regime had captured the rebel city of Idlib.

"Twelve members of the security services who headed for the town of Dael to carry out arrests were killed ... when their vehicle was ambushed by a group of armed deserters," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

CIA chief David Petraeus met Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for closed-door talks focusing on the crisis across the border in Syria.

Petraeus, director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, also discussed the latest developments in neighboring Iran and efforts to counter Kurdish rebels attacking Turkey from safe havens in northern Iraq, said NTV television channel.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday vowed to press ahead with support for democracy promotion groups, saying that they play a critical role despite a crackdown in Egypt.

Clinton, addressing U.S. ambassadors from around the world who are back in Washington for a group conference, said that civil society groups are vital to encouraging U.S. goals such as advancing democracy and women's participation.