NEW YORK

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Tuesday that military operations could be an option to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the absence of a political solution to the years-long conflict.

A devastating civil war in Syria, now in its fifth year, has claimed more than 250,000 lives, according to UN figures, and made the country the world's single-largest source of refugees and displaced people.

Speaking to reporters at UN headquarters in New York, al-Jubeir warned that a military option would be destructive, but said that it was up to al-Assad to decide whether or not to comply with a political roadmap tabled by several nations in 2012.

According to the roadmap, al-Assad should step down to make way for a transitional Syrian government.

The Saudi FM said the Free Syrian Army and moderate anti-Assad opposition groups would enjoy stepped-up support.

He went on to describe Iran as an “occupying power” in Syria, stressing that no solution to the conflict could be achieved without the withdrawal of Lebanese militia Hezbollah -- and other Shia militias -- from the war-torn country.

Al-Jubeir did not, however, rule out the possibility of negotiations with Iran regarding the conflict.

He also criticized both Iran and Russia for their ongoing support for al-Assad, which, he asserted, only served to dim hopes for a political solution.

He also asserted that recent Russian troop deployments to Syria were not intended to combat the Daesh militant group but rather to shore up the al-Assad regime.