Yesterday, we posted a story about Iranian state TV’s harsh words for the Academy Award’s Best Picture winner Argo. The Iranian news agency said the film was “anti-Iran”, “an advertisement for the CIA” and even called the movie’s production company “Zionist”. Well, along with the filmmaking of Ben Affleck, Iran is apparently also no fan of sleeveless evening gowns. While showing a clip from the Oscars ceremony, in which First Lady Michelle Obama announced the award live from the White House, the news agency Fars Photoshopped her dress to make it less revealing. According to Yahoo, her dress violated modesty codes enforced throughout many Muslim countries … Discuss

Officials in Iran aren’t too happy about Argo taking home the Best Picture Oscar at last night’s Academy Awards. The Ben Affleck film tells the true story of a secretive CIA operation to rescue American hostages during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. State TV called the film an “advertisement for the CIA", and accused the award of being “politically motivated” after First Lady Michelle Obama joined the ceremony via video from The White House to present the prize. In recent years, Iran has had a contentious relationship with The Oscars. Authorities shut down the film studio responsible for The Separation, the Iranian movie that won last year’s Best Foreign Film prize. Also in 2012, This Is Not a Film, which follows an Iranian filmmaker appealing a conviction for creating “propaganda against the regime”, was named a shortlist finalist for the Best Documentary Oscar … Discuss

Officials in Iran are continuing their cultural “cleansing” initiative by confiscating statues of Buddha sold in local stores. The statues join a seemingly random list of other banned items, like Barbie dolls and anything that uses characters from The Simpsons. Though the Iranian constitution says that the rights of non-Muslims should be observed, they say the products are part of a “cultural invasion” … Discuss

If you’re going to threaten the safety of the free world and strike terror in the hearts of your enemies by unveiling a new, state-of-the-art fighter jet, at least do a good job on the press photo. A savvy Iranian blogger pointed out that the image is most likely a quick copy-and-paste job. What’s even more embarrassing, though, is the claim by aviation experts that the Qahar 313 jet can’t even fly. This isn’t the first Photoshop scandal for the Iranian military. In 2008, it got busted for adding two missiles in a picture of a test launch. This time, it appears the jet was superimposed on top of a stock image of a mountain. (Nailed it!) You can view the evidence below … Discuss