"Islamophobia in Western drama started in France and producing and highlighting the anti-Iranian film 'Persepolis' in Cannes falls in line with this Islamophobia," seethed Mehdi Kalhor, a cultural advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

He said 'Persepolis' sought to "sabotage Iranian culture and will not be the last anti-Iranian film," according to the Fars new agency.

The Iranian authorities have already protested to France over the Cannes screening of the film co-directed by the author Marjane Satrapi, who insisted her comic-memoir was about family and not politically oriented.

Iran complained about the absence of any other Iranian contenders and accused the festival authorities of "acting in line with the biased policies of the domineering powers."

Satrapi recounts the downfall of the shah followed by the imposition of Islamic law after the 1979 revolution, seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old.

She grows into an outspoken teenager and is sent away to Austria to avoid clashes with the authorities.

Satrapi's books, which have been translated to 20 languages, have not been published in Iran which applies tough vetting on publications, banning books deemed un-Islamic, decadent and anti-revolutionary.

Iranian films have been arthouse favourites for years, winning awards in Cannes and other prestigious film festivals.

Despite their success abroad, several Iranian film makers such as the 1997 Palme d'Or winner Abbas Kiarostami are unable to get past censorship and screen their films in Iran.

AFP