The kiss that caused trouble for Iranian actress Leila Hatami

(Screen grab)

Iranian actress Leila Hatami outraged authorities in her home country on Sunday after a photograph emerged of her kissing the director of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, on the cheek.

This is an act seen as affront to the "chastity".

Jury Leila Hatami arrives on stage during the Opening Ceremony of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. (AFP)

A photograph carried by Iranian media shows Hatami kissing Gilles Jacob at the opening of this year's festival.

(AFP)

"Those who attend intentional events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians, so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world," Deputy Culture Minister Hossein
Noushabadi said, quoted by the website of state broadcaster IRIB.

Iranian actress and member of the Feature films Jury Leila Hatami arrives at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez on the eve of the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France. (AFP)

"Iranian woman is the symbol of chastity and innocence," he said. Hatami's "inappropriate presence" at the festival was "not in line with our beliefs".

(L-R) Jury members actresses Carole Bouquet, Leila Hatami and Jeon Do-yeon pose on the red carpet as they arrive for the screening of the film "Le meraviglie" (The Wonders) in competition at the 67th Cannes Film Festival in CanneS.(REUTERS)

Born into a family with a background in cinema, Hatami gained worldwide fame for her role in Asghar Farhadi's "A Separation," which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

(AFP)

She is on the jury this year at the annual Cannes festival in southern France but lives in Iran.

According to Iran's interpretation of law, in place since the 1979 revolution, a woman is not allowed to have physical contact with a man outside her family.

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