BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed on Tuesday to respond to threats against him with an "iron hand" and refused to step down, insisting he still has his people's support despite the 10-month uprising. 

In the president's first national address in more than six months, Assad said no one can deny that fighting the "terrorists" is the right policy and pledged the government's continued efforts to ensure the country's security. 

"Our priority now is to regain security which we basked in for decades, and this can only be achieved by hitting the terrorists with an iron hand," Assad said in a two-hour speech at Damascus University. "We will not be lenient with those who work with outsiders against the country." 

Assad also lashed out at the Arab League, saying the Cairo-based bloc failed to protect Arab interests. The league has suspended Syria and sent a team of monitors to assess whether the government is abiding by an Arab-brokered peace plan that Assad agreed to on Dec 19. The moves were humiliating for Syria, which considers itself a powerhouse of Arab nationalism. 

"The Arab League failed for six decades to protect Arab interests," Assad said. "We shouldn't be surprised it's failed today." 

The president has made only four public speeches since the anti-government uprising began in March, inspired by the revolutions sweeping the Arab world. The government's crackdown on dissent has killed more than 5,000, according to UN figures, and led to international isolation and sanctions. 

Tuesday's speech differed little from his previous appearances, in that Assad struck a defiant tone and reiterated claims of conspiracy. 

The opponents denounced the speech. "Bashar is completely removed from reality, as if he is talking about a country other than Syria," said a Syria-based activist who identified himself by his nickname, Abu Hamza, because of fear of reprisals. "After 10 months of violence, he comes out and talks of a foreign conspiracy." 

Also on Tuesday, Assad accused hundreds of media outlets of working against Syria to "push us toward ... collapse".