U.S. government on Monday congratulated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi for his film "A Separation" that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

"On behalf of all of us, to congratulate Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi on his Oscar win yesterday for his film, "A Separation," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at a briefing.

The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony held at Hollywood & Highland Center in downtown Los Angeles Sunday night.

Nuland said that the film, the first Iranian one that had won the honor, "really gives the world an invaluable picture of life in Iran."

"We applaud his achievement and celebrate the vibrancy and historical greatness of the independent film industry in Iran," Nuland added.

"A Separation" is the first Iranian film which has won an Oscar. "Children of Heaven" in 1998 was the only other Iranian film which had been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

The widely-hailed movie also won the best foreign film at the Golden Globes.