Dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has said he plans to return to Iran despite being sentenced to a year in prison and a travel ban earlier this week, a report said Thursday.

The 65-year-old is currently touring to promote his latest Oscar-nominated film "It Was Just an Accident", which won top prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

"Although I was given the opportunity, even in the hardest years, I never considered leaving my country and being a refugee elsewhere," Panahi told an audience at the Marrakech Film Festival, according to Variety magazine.........

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