Iran -- We're SUING Over 'Argo' ... It's Iranophobic Garbage!

Iran is now on the legal offensive in the wake of "Argo" ... threatening to sue Hollywood filmmakers for their "Iranophobic" portrayal of the Middle Eastern country.

Iran's state-run Press TV reports government officials have already contacted an "internationally-renowned" French lawyer named Isabelle Coutant-Peyre to file the lawsuit.

Coutant-Peyre released a statement saying, "I will defend Iran against the films like Argo, which are produced in Hollywood to distort the country's image."

For its part, Iran's Press TV said, "The Iranophobic American movie attempts to describe Iranians as overemotional, irrational, insane, and diabolical while at the same, the CIA agents are represented as heroically patriotic."

In addition to filing a lawsuit, Iran plans to fund a pro-Iran movie called "The General Staff" ... about 20 American hostages who are handed over to the U.S. by Iranian revolutionaries.