Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi purportedly demanded CNN show host Christiane Amanpour wear a headscarf during an interview scheduled for Wednesday evening, leading the chief international anchor to cancel the discussion after refusing to comply with the condition, Amanpour said on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2022) Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi purportedly demanded CNN show host Christiane Amanpour wear a headscarf during an interview scheduled for Wednesday evening, leading the chief international anchor to cancel the discussion after refusing to comply with the condition, Amanpour said on Thursday.
"This was going to be President Raisi's first ever interview on US soil... 40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a headscarf, because it's the holy months of Muharram and Safar," Amanpour said via social media. "I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves ... And so we walked away. The interview didn't happen."
Raisi's aide alluded to protests in Iran - sparked by the death of 22-year old woman Mahsa Amini in police custody - and claimed wearing a headscarf was "a matter of respect," Amanpour also said.
Amanpour claims she planned to ask Raisi about Amini's death during the interview, which was set to take place while the leader was in New York for the UN General Assembly.
Amini died in the custody of Iran's so-called "morality police," the Guidance Patrol, earlier this month, leading to anti-government protests throughout the country. Several deaths and dozens of injuries have been reported among protestors, according to Iranian media.
However, an official forensic examination of Amini's body shows no signs of injuries consistent with claims she was beaten to death, Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Saleh said on Wednesday. Raisi last week ordered a special investigation into Amini's death and expressed condolences to her family.
Officials assert Amini had a heart attack after being detained by the Guidance Patrol for improperly wearing a hijab. Amini was purportedly transferred from the military intelligence center where she was detained to a hospital where she later died, they assert.
