President Barack Obama yesterday slammed Iran for its harsh treatment of anti-government protesters and called on governments throughout the Middle East to avoid crackdowns on pro-democracy supporters.

“The world is changing,” he said in a message directed at autocratic rulers across the region.

“You have a young, vibrant generation within the Middle East that is looking for greater opportunity. ... You’ve got to get out ahead of change; you can’t be behind the curve.”

Mr Obama was asked at a White House news conference about the mood of change sweeping the Middle East in sympathy with the opposition victory in Egypt.

“It’s ironic that the Iranian regime is pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt,” Mr Obama said. “They acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt” by using force against demonstrators.

He said that with advances in freedom of communication through smart phones and Twitter, it is more true than ever that governments must recognise that they must act with the consent of the people.

“Governments in that region are starting to understand this and my hope is that they can operate in a way that is responsive to this hunger for change, but always do so in a way that doesn’t lead to violence.”

Iranian leaders had sought to portray the toppling of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, both secular leaders, as Islamic uprisings.

Hard-line Iranian MPs yesterday called for the country’s opposition leaders to face trial and be put to death, a day after clashes between opposition protesters and security forces left one person dead and dozens injured. Tens of thousands of people turned out for the opposition rally last Monday in solidarity with Egypt’s popular revolt.

“We have sent a strong message to our allies in the region... Lets look at Egypt’s example,” Mr Obama said.In Egypt, the military, which is now in charge of the country, exercised restraint and did not fire on protesters.

Buoyed by the Egyptian example, protesters also demonstrated in the relatively wealthy country of Bahrain and pressed for the removal of the ruler in poverty-plagued Yemen.

Mr Obama said there were limits to US influence as people in the Middle East agitate for change.

“These are sovereign countries that have to make their own decisions,” he said. “What we can do is lend moral support.”