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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the opposition protests seen in Iranian cities on Monday are "going nowhere" and vowed to punish their organisers.

Mr Ahmadinejad told state television that "enemies" were trying to "tarnish the Iranian nation's brilliance".

Two people were killed and several wounded in clashes between protesters and security forces in central Tehran, officials said.

US President Barack Obama sharply criticised the authorities' response.

"I find it ironic that you've got the Iranian regime pretending to celebrate what happened in Egypt, when in fact they have acted in direct contrast to what happened in Egypt by gunning down and beating people who were trying to express themselves peacefully," he told reporters on Tuesday.