Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad yesterday accused Barack Obama of acting like his predecessor, warning that US condemnation of the post-election clampdown on the Iranian opposition could damage the hopes of future US-Iran talks.

It was the first official response from Iran to Mr Obama's comments on Tuesday. The US president said the world was "appalled and outraged" by the crackdown that has left at least 20 protesters dead and hundreds detained since Mr Ahmadi-Nejad was re-elected president in a disputed June 12 poll.