On Wednesday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi cancelled a long-planned interview with CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour at the United Nations General Assembly in New York after she refused a last-minute request to wear a head scarf.
With Raisi running late and the interview starting 40 minutes late, an aide told Amanpour that the president had suggested she wear a head scarf. According to Amanpour, she “politely declined.”
Amanpour, who grew up in the Iranian capital Tehran and is a fluent Farsi speaker, said that she wears a head scarf while reporting in Iran to comply with the local laws and customs, “otherwise you couldn’t operate as a journalist.”
She did, however, state that she would not cover her head if she were to conduct an interview with an Iranian official outside of Iran, where it is not required.
“Here in New York, or anywhere else outside of Iran, I have never been asked by any Iranian president — and I have interviewed every single one of them since 1995 — either inside or outside of Iran, never been asked to wear a head scarf,” she said on CNN’s “New Day” program Thursday.
“I very politely declined on behalf of myself and CNN, and female journalists everywhere because it is not a requirement.”
In public, all women in Iran are required to wear a head covering and loose-fitting clothing. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the rule has been enforced in Iran, and it is mandatory for all women in the country, including tourists, visiting political figures, and journalists.
According to Amanpour, Raisi’s aide made it clear that the interview, which would have been the Iranian president’s first on American soil, would not take place unless she wore a head scarf.
He referred to it as “a matter of respect,” given that it is the holy months of Muharram and Safar, and referred to “the situation in Iran,” alluding to the protests sweeping the country, she added.
Protests erupted across Iran last week in response to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by Iran’s morality police on suspicion of violating the law on head scarves.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest of the law, with some women cutting their hair and burning their hijabs. According to witnesses and videos shared on social media, at least eight people have been killed in the demonstrations, which have been met with a harsh crackdown by authorities.
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