Saudi Arabia has been communicating with all regional actors on Syria and is determined to do what is possible to avoid chaos following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, a Saudi official said on Sunday.

But there is no panic, three Iranian officials told Reuters, as Tehran seeks diplomatic avenues to establish contact with people whom one of the officials called "those within Syria's new ruling groups whose views are closer to Iran's".

Assad, has begun a direct dialogue with representatives of the new ruling coalition in Damascus, Reuters reports. According to the agency's high-ranking sources, Tehran is trying to avoid isolation from the new Syrian government and maintain its influence in the region.