Golshifteh Farahani, an Iranian actress known for her breakthrough role in Body of Lies, was told by authorities in Iran that she is prohibited from returning to her home country because of nude photos published in a magazine as part of a protest.

Farahani said she was warned by the Iranian government not to return to her country due to the photos published in Madame Le Figaro magazine.

I was told by a Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guide official that Iran does not need any actors or artists. You may offer your artistic services somewhere else, Farahani told The Telegraph.

The 28-year-old actress is posed in a black-and-white artistic editorial nude covering her breasts accompanied by an interview which she said, [Islam code is] restricting the ability for Iran's film industry to push forward.

Farahani posted the photo to her Facebook page on Wednesday and received thousands of comments within the first few hours, most of which were applauding her efforts.

Tell everyone who doesn't like it, it's your body and you are free to do what you want, one Facebook user wrote.

Farahani left Iran last year in protest of the strict rules mandated by Islamic law and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as applied to Iranian cinema.

The way I was treated and the mistrust that I received from certain officials lead to my heartbreak, Farahani told BBC.

However, not everyone is pleased with her protest. An Iranian government official based in Cairo told independent news Web site Bikyamasr that Farahani should be punished for her actions.

I think it is disgusting and she should be put to jail or worse for this crazy idea. Women here are treated with utmost respect, the official told Bikyamasr.

The nude photo also comes during the same time as a government crackdown on the film industry in Iran, as officials have shut down the House of Cinema in Tehran, The Telegraph reported, along with the Iranian film A Separation winning Best Foreign Film of the Year at the 2012 Golden Globes.

This is not the first time Farahani appeared naked, as the actress appeared partially nude in Jean-Baptiste Mondino's Corps et Âmes, which translates to Bodies and Souls in English.

Farahani was born the daughter of actor and director Behzad Farahani and sister of actress Shaghayegh Farahani. She appeared in her first film, The Pear Tree, in 1998 and won Best Actress at Iran's Fajr Film Festival at 14-years-old. Farahani received a nomination for Best Foreign Film for 2006's M for Mother at the 2008 Academy Awards.

However, Farahani became a globally-known when she appeared opposite of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crow in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies in 2008 as a nurse who helps an American secret agent on a mission in the Middle East.

Since she left her country last year, Golshifteh Farahani has been living in Paris with her husband, Amin Mahdavi.

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