Simpsons cartoon character dolls have joined Barbie on a blacklist of toys banned in Iran, Mirror.co.uk reported.

An Iranian government-affiliated agency reportedly said the Simpsons are banned to avoid the promotion of Western culture.

But Superman and Spiderman are allowed, because they helped the "oppressed".

"We do not want to promote this cartoon by importing the toys," Shargh daily quoted Mohammad Hossein Farjoo, secretary of policymaking at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, as saying.

He did not elaborate on what was wrong with the Simpsons specifically. But he noted that any doll on which genitals are distinguishable, as well as dolls of adults, are banned.

So are toys with speakers that blare out the voices of Western singers, or toy kitchen sets which include glasses for drinking alcoholic beverages.

Mr Farjoo said however that Spiderman and Superman dolls are authorised for sale. "They help oppressed people and they have a positive stance," he said.

The agency is the one which called Barbie dolls a "Trojan horse" in 1996. In January, police said they closed down dozens of toy shops for selling Barbies.