WASHINGTON, Feb 12: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern on Sunday that Muslim outrage over cartooons could “spin out of control,” particularly if fuelled by countries like Iran and Syria.

Speaking on ABC television, Rice stood by her assertion last week that Tehran and Damascus were using the issue over publication of the caricatures to inflame anti-West sentiment and incite violence for their own purposes.

“Certainly, if governments do not act responsibly, we could face a sense of outrage that spins out of control, and particularly if people continue to incite it, it could spin out of control,” she said.

The chief US diplomat brushed aside comments by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that he had no proof of Iranian or Syrian involvement in the protests, which spread through the Muslim world and resulted in several deaths.

“I can say that the Syrians tightly control their society and the Iranians even more tightly,” she said.—AFP