Iran says new film is "psychological war"

By Edmund Blair

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused some major powers on Wednesday of waging psychological war on Iran, saying they had made a film designed to portray Iranians as savage.

Ahmadinejad did not name the film but his comments appeared to be directed at the Hollywood blockbuster "300" that depicts a 480 B.C. battle between Greeks and Persians. The film has topped box office charts in the United States and Asia.

Many Iranians see "300" as part of a broader campaign to vilify the Islamic Republic, which is locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program. The West accuses Iran of trying to make nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.

"Today they are trying to tamper with history by making a film and by making Iran's image look savage," Ahmadinejad said in a televised address to mark the start of the Iranian New Year. He said the campaign against Iran would not succeed.

Iranian officials, media and bloggers have criticized the way their ancestors were portrayed in the film, inspired by the tale of 300 Spartans under King Leonidas who held out at Thermopylae against a Persian invasion led by Xerxes.

"By psychological war, propaganda and misuse of the organizations they have themselves created, and for which they have written the rules, and over which they have a monopoly, they are trying to prevent our nation's development," he said.

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Ahmadinejad has previously said the U.N. Security Council, now considering expanding sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, was being used by the United States and Britain as a tool against the Islamic Republic.