Iran's state media said on Monday that the Oscar for best film awarded to the hostage drama Argo was politically motivated.
The news agencies Mehr and Fars said the political dimension of the prize was dramatically exposed when First Lady Michelle Obama joined the presentation ceremony from the White House.
The two agencies wondered why such an incident never happened in previous Oscar ceremonies and “only happened when an anti-Iran film was awarded.”
ISNA news agency ironically remarked that the award to Argo and the involvement of Michelle Obama “showed that the Oscar criteria are indeed totally unpolitical.”
Iran had previously said the numerous awards given to Ben Affleck's film were politically motivated
“The film was neither technically nor artistically worth all the awards and the reasons were more due to its anti-Iran aspects,” Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini told dpa.
“The film is an effort to distort history and impose the US angle,” he added.
Iran is planning to retaliate against Argo with its own big-budget movie, titled Joint Command, about the 1979-80 events and the secret operation that led to the escape of six US diplomatic personnel. - Sapa-dpa