Barack Obama yesterday accused his rival for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, of adopting the language of the Bush presidency in her approach to dealing with a nuclear Iran.Ahead of Tuesday’s hotly contested primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, the two Democratic contenders took to competing television networks and levelled at times pointed criticism at each other over foreign policy and the economy.

In the sharpest attack, Obama said that Clinton’s threat to “totally obliterate” Iran should it attempt a nuclear attack on Israel was inappropriate. “It’s not the language we need right now. It’s language that’s reflective of George Bush,” he said.

Asked by George Stephanopoulos, a former aide to Bill Clinton in the White House, whether she had any regrets over her Iran remarks, she replied: “No, why would I have any regrets?”