Diplomatic relations with Iran remain under severe strain after two British diplomats were ordered to leave the country, prompting retaliatory expulsions by the UK. Iran has singled out Britain for blame for the unrest on the streets of Tehran in the wake of the disputed presidential election. The regime accused the two diplomats of "activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status" - usually code for spying, a claim which Prime Minister Gordon Brown said was "entirely without foundation". The dependants of British diplomats are already being evacuated from the Iranian capital and the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the country. Amid pressure to take a harder stance on Iran, US President Barack Obama condemned the "unjust actions" of Iranian security forces, but reiterated his intention not to be seen to be meddling. "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost," he told a press conference. "I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not at all interfering in Iran's affairs." Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week accused "the evil British government" of interfering in the June 12 election. And at the weekend foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Britain had "plotted against the presidential election for more than two years". "We witnessed an influx of people before the election. Elements linked to the British secret service were flying in in droves," he said.