LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Iranian officials said the country's film-making community will boycott the 2013 Oscars competition in Hollywood.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's drama "A Separation" won the best foreign language Oscar this year and Reza Mirkarimi's comedy "A Cube of Sugar" was expected to be the country's entry for next year's competition. However, Iran's culture minister said the country will not compete as part of the backlash over the controversial independent U.S. film "Innocence of Muslims," The Guardian newspaper in London reported.