Oscars: Asghar Farhadi blasts Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban' as The Salesman wins Best Foreign Language film

The Iranian filmmaker boycotted the ceremony following the President's ruling

The Salesman has won Best Foreign Language film at this year's Oscars, winning a second award for Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi who was affected by Donald Trump's Muslim ban.

The film has been in the headlines recently following the news that President Trump's ruling would keep the director Farhadi out of the US. Following its block by US courts, Farhadi decided to boycott the ceremony altogether.

Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari accepted the award on behalf of Farhadi, reading out a statement written by the director.

It read: "I'm sorry I'm not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those from other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US. Dividing the world into the US and our enemies categories creates fear - a deceitful justification for aggression and war."

Farhadi's film The Salesman was nominated in the Foreign Language category alongside Land of Mine (Denmark), Toni Erdmann (Germany), A Man Called Ove (Sweden) and Tanna (Australia). The film follows a high school teacher (Shahab Hosseini) who seeks revenge against the perpetrator who attacked his wife (Taraneh Alidoosti) in their apartment.

The director made awards history in 2012 when his film A Separation became the first Iranian film to win an Oscar.

To follow all the happenings at this year's Oscars ceremony, check out our live blog here. You can find a list of all the winners here.