An aide to Raisi approached Amanpour 40 minutes before the interview and asked him to wear a veil, “because these are the holy months of Muharram and Safar”.
The well-known British-Iranian journalist rejected the request.
“We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition about headscarves. No other Iranian president has demanded this when I conducted interviews outside of Iran,” Amanpour said.
The UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador said the adviser “made it clear that the interview would not take place if he did not wear a headscarf”.
“He said it was ‘a matter of respect’ and referred to the ‘situation in Iran’, referring to the protests in the country,” he said.
Amanpour and his team walked away, saying the reporter couldn’t agree with “this unprecedented and unexpected condition”.
“The interview did not take place. As the protests in Iran continue and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to talk to President Raisi,” the journalist said.
According to Amanpour, it would be Raisi’s first interview in the United States, where he is visiting New York to participate in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly.
“After weeks of planning and eight hours of putting together translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were done. But no sign of President Raisi,” Amanpour added on Twitter.
And so we walked away. The interview didn’t happen. The protests in Iran continue and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi. 7/7 pic.twitter.com/kMFyQY99Zh
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) September 22, 2022
The interview was to take place after the case of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested last Tuesday by the so-called “morality police” of Tehran, where she was visiting, for allegedly wearing her veil incorrectly and was transferred to a police station to “deliver” one hour of reeducation”.
He died three days later in a hospital where he fell into a coma after a heart attack, which authorities attributed to health problems, a version rejected by the family.
Since then, protests have escalated in at least 20 cities, with the deaths of at least 17 people, according to Iranian state television.
Source: DN
