An actor described as ‘the Iranian Brad Pitt’ has been forced to apologise for a tweet expressing support of America’s gay marriage ruling, following a massive media backlash in his home country.

Following last week’s favourable US supreme court ruling on same-sex marriage actor Bahram Radan (pictured) tweeted in Persian: “The US supreme court’s ruling that same-sex marriage is legal was historic, perhaps on the scale of the end of slavery … from Lincoln to Obama.”

Almost instantly users began bombarding Radan – who has since deleted the tweet – with a barrage of homophobic abuse.

The Guardian reports that the ultra-conservative Keyhan newspaper called for Radan, who has 55,000 Twitter followers, to be put on a blacklist and reported that he had been summoned to the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance for questioning.

Yesterday Keyhan published a suitably contrite letter of apology from Radan. “What was published on the internet as my opinion about the US supreme court’s ruling on gay marriage was a mistake and does not reflect the dignity of the Iranian people, for which I apologise,” read the letter.

“We’re living in a country which celebrates marriage as a tradition of the prophet [Muhammad]. American laws have no bearing on the Islamic republic and gay marriage is reprehensible under our social and religious laws and according to our social values.”

Homosexuality remains punishable by death in Iran.