Syrian President Bashar al-Assad spoke Tuesday of the legitimate demands of his people during a meeting with visiting U.S. congressman Dennis Kucinich, SANA state news agency said.

Assad told the anti-war Democratic Representative of "current events in Syria and the implementation of reforms" during their talks in Damascus, the agency reported.

Iran on Sunday reiterated that it does not interfere in the affairs of its regional Arab ally Syria and accused the European Union of leading a "baseless" campaign against Tehran by imposing sanctions.

"The baseless EU claims in connecting events in Syria to the Revolutionary Guards reveal the bloc's efforts to create a campaign against the Islamic republic and to distort reality," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in a statement.

Eight wounded Syrians were hospitalized in northern Lebanon Friday after entering the country through an illegal crossing at the border with Syria, a Lebanese security official told Agence France Presse.

"Eight Syrians with gunshot wounds were evacuated from their country via the unofficial crossing of al-Qusair in the region of Akkar" at Lebanon's northern border with Syria, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The European Union on Wednesday agreed to extend the list of sanctions against Syria by adding seven people, including three Iranians, and four companies.

The three Iranians were accused of providing military equipment to support Syria's brutal crackdown on protests, diplomats told Agence France Presse on Wednesday.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should transform the autocratic regime in his country into a multi-party system, following a televised address by the Syrian leader to the nation Monday.

Gul told reporters late on Monday that Assad’s speech was “not enough.”

The United States on Monday demanded "actions, not words" from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who said dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even end his Baath Party's monopoly on power.

"What's important now is action, not words," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said after Assad addressed the demands of pro-democracy protesters who have been violently repressed. "A speech is just words."

Syrian authorities on Monday showed journalists and ambassadors a "new mass grave" that military sources said contained at least 29 bodies near the restive northern town of Jisr al-Shughour.

An Agence France Presse photographer who was among a group of journalists taken by the authorities to the area said he counted eight bodies which were removed from a rubbish dump.

"Outraged" European ministers on Monday agreed to beef up sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad as they cast doubt on his latest offers of change, some demanding he "reform or step aside".

Amid continuing bloodshed in Syria's crackdown on protesters, European Union foreign ministers also angrily demanded action at the United Nations and slammed Russia's resistance to any such move.

President Bashar al-Assad has reached "a point of no return," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Monday following the Syrian leader's speech to his troubled nation.

"Some believe there's still time for him to change his ways and commit to a (reform) process," Juppe said after Assad suggested in a televised speech that dialogue could lead to a new constitution.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its president was due in Damascus late Sunday to press Syrian leaders to allow access to all people affected by the country's festering violence.

During his two-day visit, Jakob Kellenberger was to confer with Prime Minister Adel Safar, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and Syrian expatriates, the ICRC said in a statement.