As Washington grapples with mounting anger among Muslims over publication of the caricatures in Western newspapers, US President George W Bush condemned the violence, while admonishing the media to be more "thoughtful" of others.
But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has also bought in to the political rhetoric of the controversy by charging Iran and Syria, two frequent targets of the Bush administration, with stoking sectarian feelings.
Emerging from talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Ms Rice said some Muslim countries are behaving responsibly but "there are governments that have also used this opportunity to incite violence".
"I don't have any doubt that ... Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes. And the world ought to call them on it," she said.
Violence not justified
Ms Rice went further than previous US statements that accused the administrations in Tehran and Damascus of not doing enough to rein in the violent protests over the satirical images of Mohammed first published in a Danish paper.
Mr Bush, meeting at the White House with Jordan's King Abdullah, said: "I call upon the governments around the word to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property, to protect the lives of innocent diplomats."
In his first public remarks on the global furore, Mr Bush said he and King Abdullah both rejected violence as a way to express discontent with the press, however also warned the media to be responsible and “thoughtful about others”.
Middle line
King Abdullah also sought a middle line. "With all respect to press freedoms, obviously, anything that vilifies the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, or attacks Muslim sensibilities needs to be condemned," the monarch said.
The pair jointly appealed for religious tolerance.
However a French satirical weekly is reprinting the 12 offending caricatures, a move likely to deepen Muslim anger.
Cartoonist threatened
One of the 12 Danish cartoonists whose caricatures of Islam have led to the violent protests has told a German newspaper he is distraught over the consequences and now faces at least two death threats.
All the cartoonists have gone into hiding.
Protests continue
In the southern Iraqi city of Basra, near the British Embassy, more than 3,000 demonstrators protested against the cartoons, and a rally in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi drew about 1,200 people.
Protests were also held in Georgia, in the West Bank town of Hebron, the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and Iranian capital Tehran, the third day of demonstrations there.
Danes seek peace
A group of moderate Muslims in Denmark meanwhile said it plans to launch a campaign promoting the Scandinavian country in the Arab world in an attempt to soothe the resulting tensions.
The initiative came as the Danish government said it would exclude radical imams from its talks with Denmark's Muslim community on its integration into society.