WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama offered encouragement to protesters in Iran Tuesday, saying he hoped they would have the “courage” to continue expressing their “yearning for greater freedoms.”

Obama said that, unlike in Egypt, Iran's response to protests has been “to shoot people and beat people and arrest people.”

“And, you know, my hope and expectation is that we're going to continue to see the people of Iran have the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more representative government,” he said.