TEHRAN: Iranians on Monday cheered the choice of one of their own for the best foreign film Oscar, lauding director Asghar Farhadi’s boycott of the Hollywood ceremony for his film The Salesman as an act of defiance against the Trump administration. The award was the second Oscar for Farhadi, after his film A Separation won in the same category for 2012.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he saw the prize as taking a stance against Trump’s executive order. “Proud of Cast and Crew of The Salesman for Oscar and stance against #MuslimBan. Iranians have represented culture and civilization for millennia,” he tweeted in English.

In a statement read out at the Oscars ceremony on his behalf by Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American astronaut, Farhadi said the empathy film-makers can foster is needed today more than ever. Ansari was joined onstage by another accomplished Iranian-American, Firouz Naderi, a former Nasa director.

“I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight,” Farhadi’s statement read. “My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US ... Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear,” it said.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017