- At least 24 people are killed Sunday, including seven in Aleppo, opposition activists say
- Foreign minister: Rebel fighters "will fail" in Syria's largest city
- Iranian official: "There will be severe consequences" if other countries make a mistake
- The head of the Syrian National Council says the regime is planning a massacre
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Northern Syria (CNN) -- Syria's top diplomat delivered ominous words Sunday about the battle for Aleppo, vowing that rebel troops would not gain control of the nation's largest city.
"Since last week, (opposition fighters) planned for whatever they called the 'great Damascus battle,' but they have failed after one week. That's why they moved to Aleppo, and I can assure you that they will fail," Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said during a trip to Iran, one of his nation's few remaining allies.
Moallem spoke after more than a week of clashes between regime and rebel fighters in Aleppo, decrying what he called a "vicious" international plot against the Syrian regime.
"I can tell you that we are facing a global war against Syria, and as a proud Syrian I can tell you that it is a great honor to be part of a great country that is facing a ferocious attack by certain countries," he told reporters in Tehran after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart. Moallem also described a "media campaign" by the United States and others about chemical weapons in Syria.
The Iranian foreign minister said Israel is behind "is a conspiracy against Syria."
"It is completely ridiculous and delusive to believe that there is a possibility of creating a vacuum in the leadership in Syria," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said. "We call upon the people of the region to be fully aware and not to move in the wrong direction because there will be severe consequences that will go beyond the borders of the region to the outside world."
Meanwhile, with relentless attacks rocking Aleppo, the head of a prominent Syrian opposition group pleaded for world allies to help arm rebels.
"Our friends and allies will bear responsibility for the terrifying massacres that will happen in Aleppo if they don't move soon. This regime is planning for a big massacre in Aleppo," Abdulbaset Sieda, head of the Syrian National Council, told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
He urged allies to act outside of the U.N. Security Council, as resolutions there can be vetoed.
"The rebels now are fighting with primitive types of weapons against the killing machine. We need weapons that will allow us to stop tanks and planes," Sieda said.
The changing mission of U.N. in Syria 
Syrian rebels show off weapons 
Syrian rebels fight through grief, pride The changing mission of U.N. in Syria Aleppo, the commercial and cultural center of Syria, took another pounding Sunday morning with intense artillery shelling, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
At least nine of the 24 people killed Sunday were in Aleppo, the LCC said.
In recent days, the shelling in Aleppo has been accompanied by clashes between regime and rebel fighters in and around the city, the LCC said.
Aleppo: Great world city in grip of war
Syrian TV said "terrorists" suffered heavy losses after clashes in three neighborhoods.
Tanks pounded Aleppo on Saturday, a sign that a much-feared government offensive in the critical city has started.
"Many people have been killed. More tanks have arrived at a military school in northern Aleppo and started shelling for the first time from this location today," Deama, an activist in Aleppo, said Saturday.
CNN isn't using her full name because disclosing it could put her in danger.
She said the regime is shelling displaced people from Homs and Idlib who've taken refuge in Aleppo, and thousands of them have had to evacuate yet again.
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Securing Aleppo is key for the embattled regime and the anti-government fighters. One Free Syrian Army commander said the regime has labeled the confrontation for the city as the "mother of all battles."
Regime forces are preventing fuel and food from entering Aleppo neighborhoods controlled by rebel fighters, opposition activists said. Rebels have had to set up medical clinics in homes.
U.S. increasing contacts with Syrian rebels
"They are besieging our area," said Abu Omar, a resident of the Salaheddin neighborhood. "There is no electricity in some parts, and food is scarce."
Deama said the humanitarian situation is "disastrous."
"We have a bread crisis because the regime apparently ordered all bread bakeries closed. But in areas under the control of the (rebel) Free Syrian Army, the FSA opened the bakeries and were able to employ people to bake bread then distribute it. There are also severe shortages in medications," she said.
Speaking at the Vatican Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to the bloodshed, and noted the need for increased humanitarian aid for refugees fleeing the violence.
"I continue to follow with concern the growing and tragic episodes of violence in Syria with the sad sequence of deaths and injuries among civilians, and a large number of displaced refugees in neighboring countries," he said.
The Syrian crisis started in March 2011, after President Bashar al-Assad's regime cracked down on peaceful protests.
More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the conflict, the LCC said. Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said almost 17,000 people have died.
CNN's Saad Abedine, Mohammed Jamjoom and Ivan Watson contributed to this report.
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