U.S. State Department Tweets Congratulations to Iranian Film for Winning Oscar But Then Deletes It
The Salesman won Best Foreign Language Film at the 2017 Oscars. It was directed by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who had made headlines prior to the Oscars. In a statement to the New York Times, Farhadi explained that he would not be attending the ceremony.
He was angered over President Trump’s travel ban that restricted entry from seven countries, including Iran, his home. “I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations,” part of his statement read.
Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari represented Farhadi at the ceremony and read a statement from him when The Salesman won. “Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war,” she said.
After his win, the U.S. State Department’s Farsi-language Twitter account tweeted its congratulations, but the tweet was then deleted. A State Department spokeswoman explained why to Reuters. “A congratulatory tweet was posted,” she said. “We later removed the post to avoid any misperception that the USG (U.S. government) endorsed the comments made in the acceptance speech.” Reuters says that the State Department says the decision came from the State Department itself.
The Movies of Asghar Farhadi:
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