Ahmadinejad rounds on rival

Under-pressure Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took a leaf out of the American book of electioneering when he appeared in a live televised debate before elections later this month, and savaged his opponent Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Earlier he had attracted more opprobrium from Western leaders when he described the Holocaust as a "great deception" and accused Israel of being "the most criminal regime in human history".

In a no-holds-barred exchange on TV, Ahmadinejad accused his opponents of spreading lies about his government and launched personal attacks on his opponent and even his wife Zahra Rahnavard, who he criticised for campaigning on Mousavi's behalf. He went as far as accusing her of not having the right qualifications for her post as a university professor.

Ahmadinejad, who is known for showing his political enemies little mercy, accused Mousavi of colluding with Iran's former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He said his opponent would undermine the Islamic state with a policy of "detente" with the West.

Mousavi responded by accusing Ahmadinejad of undermining the dignity of Iran. He said the president's questioning of the Holocaust, his firebrand style and aggressive foreign policy had "downgraded" Iran in the eyes of world.

The clash has caused a furore in Iran, where the electorate are not used to such knockabout politics, and has brought the election campaign to life.

The meeting was the second in a series of debates between presidential hopefuls, and the first to feature the incumbennt. Ahmadinejad will face his other two challengers - former parliament speaker Mahdi Karoudi, another reformist, and hard-liner Mohsen Rezaei, a former member of the Revolutionary Guards - in later broadcasts.

US President Barack Obama, who is in the region fostering relations with Muslim countries, told an audience in Cairo that denying the Holocaust was "baseless, ignorant, and hateful." ·