One of Raisi’s assistants went to Amanpour 40 minutes before the interview began, asking him to wear a headscarf “because these are the holy months of Muharram and Safar.”
The well-known British-Iranian journalist declined the request.
“We are in New York where there is no law or tradition regarding the headscarf,” Amanpour said. “No other Iranian president demanded it when I was interviewed outside Iran.”
The UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador said the advisor “made it clear that the interview would not take place if he did not wear a headscarf”.
“It’s a matter of respect,” he said, referring to “the situation in Iran” in reference to the protests in the country.
Amanpour and his team left, saying the reporter could not agree to “this unprecedented and unexpected case”.
“The interview did not take place. With protests continuing in Iran and killing people, it would have been an important time to speak with President Raisi,” the journalist said.
According to Amanpour, this will be my first meeting in the United States, as he is visiting New York to participate in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
“After weeks of planning and eight hours of assembling translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were ready. But there is no indication of President Raei,” Amanpour added on Twitter.
And so we moved away. The interview didn’t happen, protests are going on in Iran and people are getting killed, and it would have been an important moment to talk with President Raisi. pic.twitter.com/kMFyQY99Zh
– Christian Amanpour (@amanpour) September 22 2022
The interview was due to take place after the case of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested last Tuesday by the so-called “morality police” in Tehran, where she was visiting, for allegedly improperly wearing a headscarf and taken to a police station to attend An hour of re-education.
He died three days later in a hospital where he arrived in a coma after suffering a heart attack, which the authorities attributed to health problems, an account the family rejected.
Since then, protests have doubled in at least 20 cities, with at least 17 people killed, according to Iranian state television.
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