DAMASCUS, Syria – Iran and Syria condemned a U.S. plan to assist rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad on Saturday and signaled the Syrian leader intends to stay in power at least until the 2014 presidential elections.

The remarks came against the backdrop of a strategic victory for the regime as the military regained control over a string of villages along a key highway to open a potential supply route in Syria’s heavily contested north.

The army command boasted of the achievement in a statement, saying it had eradicated the remnants of “terrorist agents and mercenaries” in the area that links the government-controlled central city of Hama with Aleppo’s international airport.