Video game (illustrative)
Video game (illustrative)Thinkstock

A game encouraging players to engage in virtual violence against Arabs has been released Monday - by none other than Iran. 

The game, entitled "Beat Up and Insult the Arab," is being sold on a popular Iranian gaming website with apparent full sanction by the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya news agency. Games on the site must undergo approval by Iran's strict website rules, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Guidance. 

'Beat Up the Arab' game Screenshot

The site does say that it will remove any content that violates Islamic law. 

The game apparently makes several references to Arabs from the Gulf states - perhaps an outcropping of recent tensions between Iran and its Gulf neighbors over their proxy war in Yemen. 

Regardless, Iran's Ahwazi Arabs - who are legal citizens - have protested the game over its racist content.