Iran celebrates Oscar win over "the Zionist regime"

Iranian TV touted the prestigious recognition as “leaving behind” its Israeli competitor — a film from the “Zionist regime” — while the head the Iranian Cinematic Agency called the award the “beginning of the collapse” of Israeli influence that “beats the drum of war” in the United States, according to the AP.

Director Asghar Farhadi said Sunday that he would accept the award on behalf of fellow Iranians, whom he called a “people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment.”