Iranian film star boycotts Oscars to protest Trump's 'racist' travel ban

The Iranian star of the Oscar-nominated film The Salesman on Thursday said she would boycott the awards in protest at President Donald Trump's "racist" ban on Muslim immigrants. 

"Trump's visa ban for Iranians is racist. Whether this will include a cultural event or not, I won't attend the #AcademyAwards 2017 in protest," tweeted Taraneh Alidoosti, the film's 33-year-old lead actress. 

Trump is reportedly poised to stop visas for travellers from seven Muslim countries, including Iran, for 30 days.

He told ABC News on Wednesday that his plan was not a "Muslim ban," but targeted countries that "have tremendous terror."

The Salesman, directed by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi is nominated for best foreign-language film at the Academy Awards, which take place next month. 

In 2012 Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Oscar for his film called A Separation.  

Visa applications from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen are all expected to be stopped for a month under a draft executive order published in the Washington Post and New York Times.

The draft order also seeks to suspend the US refugee programme for four months as officials draw up a list of low-risk countries.

Iranian cinema has regularly featured in the Oscars and other prestigious film festivals in the states over the last few years.