The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has accused Iran and Syria of deliberately stoking Muslim anger in the furore over the publication of cartoons satirising the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
She said some Muslim countries were behaving responsibly but 'there are governments that have also used this opportunity to incite violence'.
Ms Rice went further than previous US statements which accused Tehran and Damascus of not doing enough to rein in the protests over the satirical images first published in a Danish newspaper.
US President George W Bush has called on governments around the world to help curb the violent response.
Mr Bush made the call after he met Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Washington.
'We believe in a free press. And also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others.'
King Abdullah said: ‘With all respect to press freedoms, obviously, anything that vilifies the prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, or attacks Muslim sensibilities needs to be condemned.
‘But at the same time, those that want to protest should do it thoughtfully, articulately, express their views peacefully. When we see a protest, when we see destruction, when we see violence, especially if it ends up taking the lives of innocent people, is completely unacceptable.’
Four killed in Afghanistan
Clashes between demonstrators and police continued for a fourth day in Afghanistan today.
At least four people died after protesters tried to storm a US military base in the southern city of Qalat, bringing the number of people killed in Afghanistan in recent days to 11.
Dozens were arrested after setting fire to cars and attacking security forces.
An international monitoring team in the occupied West Bank has said it is withdrawing temporarily after Palestinians attacked their office in protest at the cartoons which were published in a number of European countries.
Hundreds of Palestinians threw stones at the headquarters of international observers in protest. Staff include personnel from Denmark, where the cartoons were first published.
The Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has again appealed for a peaceful end to the protest.
The latest disturbances come as a French satirical magazine reprinted the 12 cartoons.
It was reported that some of the staff at the weekly magazine, Charlie-Hebdo, have received police protection after the publication, which also includes one of its own cartoons on the front page depicting Mohammed. The editor said the edition also satirised other religions.
Ahern calls reprint a provocation
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, said the publication of the cartoons was a deliberately provocative move.
The French President, Jacques Chirac, also described the move as a provocation, and condemned any such manifest provocation that might dangerously fan passions.
'Anything that can hurt the convictions of another, particularly religious convictions, must be avoided. Freedom of expression must be exercised in a spirit of responsibility,’ Mr Chirac said.
The publication was the subject of a civil court case brought by Muslim leaders objecting to the depictions on the grounds that the cartoons were an incitement to religious or racial hatred.
However, the judge refused the Muslim Council of France's case to ban publication.
