Asghar Farhadi criticizes U.S. travel ban after his film 'The Salesman' wins at the Oscars

A statement was read for director Asghar Farhadi, criticizing the U.S. travel ban, after his film The Salesman won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

Farhadi, the Iranian-born director and writer who was absent from the ceremony, had a statement read on his behalf by Anousheh Ansari.

"I am sorry I am not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other six nations whom have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S. Dividing the world into the 'Us' and 'Our Enemies' categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war."

Social media users reacted after hearing Farhadi's statement.

Farhadi said in January that he would not attend the ceremony in the wake of President Trump's travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.

"It now seems that the possibility of this presence is being accompanied by ifs and buts which are in no way acceptable to me even if exceptions were to be made for my trip," Farhadi wrote in his statement in January. "To humiliate one nation with the pretext of guarding the security of another is not a new phenomenon in history and has always laid the groundwork for the creation of future divide and enmity. I hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the United States of America and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations."