Iranian flag
Iranian flagIsrael news photo: Wikimedia Commons / public domain

Iran has announced a new ban on the Simpsons dolls, the British Daily Mail reported on Monday.

The report quoted the secretary of Iran’s Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, who told the Iranian Shargh newspaper, “We don’t want to promote this cartoon by importing the toys.”

Mohammad Hossein Farjoo added that any doll on which genitals are distinguishable, as well as dolls of adults, are also banned in the Islamic Republic, as are toys with speakers that blare out the voices of Western singers, or toy kitchen sets that include glasses for drinking alcoholic beverages.

While he did not elaborate on what was specifically wrong with the Simpsons that would justify a ban, Farjoo added that dolls of Spiderman and Superman were authorized for sale because “they help oppressed people and they have a positive stance.”

The ban on the Simpsons comes after the Islamic Republic last month banned the Barbie dolls produced by the U.S.-based Mattel Company, as well as the accessories she comes with.

The Barbie ban is part of the response to tightened sanctions against the Islamic Republic by Western nations.