Syria's opposition called for "international protection for civilians" in the central city of Homs, besieged by the forces of President Bashar Assad and theatre of deadly clashes between soldiers and alleged army deserters.

Declaring Homs a "humanitarian disaster area," the Syrian National Council urged the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League to act "to stop the massacre committed by the regime."

The Iranian government has mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon after receiving assistance from foreign scientists, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.

Citing unnamed Western diplomats and nuclear experts familiar with new intelligence to be released to the United Nations, the newspaper said a former Soviet weapons scientist had allegedly tutored Iranians on building high-precision detonators of the kind used to trigger a nuclear chain reaction.

Four bombs exploded in Baghdad's Shorjah market on Sunday, killing at least one person and wounding 15 on the first day of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice, security officials said.

The bombs exploded about 1:00 pm (1000 GMT), setting fire to part of the market, interior and defense ministry officials said.

New intelligence due this week from the U.N. atomic watchdog will provide fresh evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons drive, diplomats said Sunday, as Israel further stoked speculation about a possible strike.

Previous International Atomic Energy Agency assessments have centered on Iran's efforts to produce fissile material -- uranium and plutonium -- which can be put to peaceful uses like power generation, or be used to make a nuclear bomb.

Arab foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss Syria's failure to implement an Arab proposal to end a crackdown on protests, the Arab League said on Sunday.

A League statement said the Cairo meeting was called because of "the continuation of violence and because the Syrian government did not implement its commitments in the Arab plan to resolve the Syrian crisis."

Dissident Yemeni general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar said on Sunday his forces have foiled a regime plot to blow up a bomb-laden car in Sanaa on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast.

In a statement, Ahmar said a car loaded with two gas cylinders and 100 kilograms of TNT had been discovered on Saturday near the headquarters of his First Armored Division in the capital.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Sunday that sanctions against Iran should be toughened and that "everything must be done" to avoid a military conflict over Tehran's nuclear program.

"We have imposed sanctions that continue to expand, we can toughen them to put pressure on Iran," Juppe told Europe 1 radio.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Sunday it was clear that Syrian President Bashar Assad was not going to implement an Arab peace plan and there was "nothing more to expect" from his regime.

"I personally think there is nothing more to expect from this regime and that despite its occasional announcements it will not commit to a program of reforms," Juppe told Europe 1 radio.

Security forces killed at least 19 civilians as anti-regime demonstrations were staged across Syria on Sunday, the first day of the Muslim feast marking the end of the hajj, a human rights group said.

It was the fourth straight day of deadly violence since Syria agreed to an Arab peace blueprint aimed at ending nearly eight months of bloodshed.

Four crewmen died and five are still missing after an Indian ship sank in bad weather off the coast of Oman, state media in the Gulf sultanate reported on Sunday.

The Omani coastguard rescued six sailors and recovered four bodies after the sinking around 12 kilometers (eight miles) off the town of Sadh in the southern Dhofar region, the reports said.