Bahram Radan has been forced to apologise after tweeting approval for same-sex marriage.

The popular Iranian actor responded to the news from the United States by tweeting: “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.”

He has since deleted it – after almost immediately receiving a barrage of protest.

It was reported that he was summoned to the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance for questioning.

The “Iranian Brad Pitt” then released a statement apologising for the tweet.

He wrote: ““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.

“We’re living in a country which celebrates marriage as a tradition of the prophet.

“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.”

Iranian society can be fiercely homophobic – with reports that that gay Iranians are often pressured into gender reassignment surgery as a “cure”.

The country recently produced it’s own version of sitcom Modern Family – but with notable differences.