Oliver Stone reportedly in Iran for movie festival

Hollywood director said to host filmmaker workshop in local Fajr Festival, set to hold press conference later this week

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media said American movie director Oliver Stone is in Tehran to attend an international film festival.

Monday’s report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Stone briefly visited the historical city of Isfahan the previous day.

According to the report, Stone will host a workshop for filmmakers during the Fajr Film Festival and hold a news conference on Wednesday. French actor Jean-Pierre Léaud and Italian Giovanni Spagnoletti are also attending.

This is the Hollywood director’s first visit to Iran.

In 2007, Iran’s then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected a proposal by Stone to make a film about him. Ahmadinejad said at the time that Stone was part of the “Great Satan” cultural establishment, a reference to the United States.

In 2012, Stone’s son, Sean Stone, visited Iran and converted to Shiite Islam.

Stone, whose father was Jewish, but who rebelled against his Judaism, claimed in a 2010 interview with The Times that the US did not know the “full story” on Iran, complaining about Jewish “domination” of US media and foreign policy.

Stone added that Adolf Hitler was “misunderstood,” due to Jewish control of the media, adding that pro-Israel lobby AIPAC was an “overly powerful Jewish lobby” within the US.