Iran filmmaker Panahi fears Iranians' interests will be 'sacrificed' in US talks

Dissident Iranian film director Jafar Panahi told AFP he believes ordinary Iranians risk being "sacrificed" in talks between Iran and the United States on Friday, with his country still "in shock" over a deadly crackdown on protests.

Panahi, Iran's best-known director, offered support for anti-government protests last month in which thousands of people were killed by security forces, according to rights groups.

US President Donald Trump, having encouraged the protesters in mid-January, has since focused his attention on making a deal with Iran's clerical leadership over the country's nuclear and missile programmes.

"In my view, this is not a negotiation between two countries," Panahi told AFP in Paris on Wednesday.

"On one side, there is a country (the United States); on the other, there is a place ruled by an ideological entity. They are focused on their ideology, not on the country. The country's interests do not matter to them.

"So whatever happens in such negotiations they will not be in the people's favour. The people have no representative in these negotiations, and their interests are never taken into account.

"They can easily be sacrificed in these exchanges," he added.

Panahi's comments reflect concerns that the talks between US and Iranian officials scheduled for Friday in Muscat could help consolidate the power of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Panahi, 65, has been out of Iran for the last few months and his latest film "It Was Just an Accident" is in the running for Best International Feature at the Oscars next month.

Panahi's son and other family members have remained in Iran during his foreign travels.

"They are okay, but all of them are in shock -- a shock that, like the rest of the people of Iran, has put everyone in a state of mourning," Panahi said.

He has been sentenced to a year in jail during his absence for "propaganda activities" against the state, but insisted to AFP he planned to return home.