Tehran  - A number of Hollywood stars and members of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), currently in Tehran for a cultural exchange programme, visited on Sunday the cinema museum in Tehran.

Among the team were also actresses Annette Bening and Alfre Woodard who had to wear, in line with local Islamic regulations, a scarf and long coat to cover hair and body contours.

Bening, who is very popular in Iran, told reporters through an interpreter that she was very happy to be in Iran and hoped the visit could prepare grounds for exchange of film students from both countries.

She added that although her parents were surprised about her planned visit to Islamic Iran, what she has so far seen from Iran was very positive and far beyond her initial expectations.

An Iranian actress also asked Bening how she managed "to tame" her husband Warren Beatty during all the years of marriage. The US actress just smiled and refrained to give a reply.

The AMPAS members, also including AMPAS president Sid Ganis, former president Frank Pierson and producer William Horberg, are reportedly on a private initiative in Iran and scheduled to have meeting with the Iranian side.

Observers say that although the visit of the AMPAS team is private, it could still be considered as part of the opening policy between Iran and the US following the presidency of Barack Obama and after three decades of diplomatic estrangement.

An Iranian cultural official and advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has however already politicised the visit and said that the AMPAS members should first apologize for the alleged anti-Iran films made in Hollywood before meeting with local cinema officials. dpa