EA's popular face shooter Battlefield 3 has been banned in Iran. The game includes a fictionalised US assault on Iran's capital Tehran, where many men must be shot in the face. Unfortunately, this has angered the Iranian government, and the game has been declared illegal, according to AFP .

Battlefield 3 has never been officially released in Iran as EA has no resellers there, but shops do sell pirated copies of the game. The ban marks the first time a game has been declared illegal, with police raiding shops and arresting owners, according to a local shop owner.

A group of “Iranian youths” have started an online petition against Battlefield 3, which has garnered over 5,000 signatures. “We believe the game is purposely released at a time when the US is pushing the international community into fearing Iran," they say.

EA probably doesn't care about the ban - after all, they have no official presence in the country. But the game certainly seems to have struck a nerve with the residents of Iran at a time when a little political sensitivity would have gone a long way.