Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

US journalist denied an interview with Iran President for not wearing hijab

Taking to Twitter, Christiane Amanpour said that she was suggested to wear the headscarf but after her denial, the interview got cancelled.

US journalist denied an interview with Iran President for not wearing hijab

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday cancelled the scheduled interview with the US journalist as she refused to wear a hijab for the interaction.

This comes amid massive protests in Iran that escalated after the death of a woman in police custody for breaking hijab laws. An interview of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi with CNN's Chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour was abruptly cancelled after the journalist declined to wear the Hijab.


Taking to Twitter, Amanpour said that she was suggested to wear the headscarf but after her denial, the interview got cancelled.

In a series of tweets, the anchor said that she planned to discuss the demonstrations, which are surging in Iran, including numerous incidents where women are burning their hijabs to protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, among other topics.

"This was going to be President Raisi's first ever interview on US soil, during his visit to NY for UNGA. After weeks of planning and eight hours of setting up translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were ready. But no sign of President Raisi," Amanpour said in a tweet.

She waited for 40 minutes for the President to come for the interview but was cancelled.

"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. I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," Amanpour said as she posted a picture of herself, without a hijab, sitting in front of an empty chair.

After Amanpour repeatedly declined to wear the Hijab, the interview, at the end, got cancelled.

"And so we walked away. The interview didn't happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi," she tweeted.

The ongoing protests in Iran have intensified on Wednesday, demonstrators hurled stones over security forces.

The protestors burned vehicles and chanted anti-government slogans as the oppression against strict dress codes for women continued in Iran.

Citing the Iranian state media, CBS reported that police used tear gas and arrested to disperse crowds of up to 1,000 people on Wednesday as street rallies spread to 15 cities.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, UN experts strongly condemned the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

In a press statement, the UN Human Rights Office said the experts also denounced the violence directed against peaceful protesters and human rights defenders demanding accountability for Amini's death in cities across the country by Iranian security forces.

They urged the Iranian authorities to avoid further unnecessary violence and to immediately stop the use of lethal force in policing peaceful assemblies.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the death of Amini. She is another victim of Iran's sustained repression and systematic discrimination against women and the imposition of discriminatory dress codes that deprive women of bodily autonomy and the freedoms of opinion, expression and belief," the experts said.

As per Al Jazeera, Mahsa Amini, 22, was on a visit to Tehran with her family when she was detained by the specialist police unit. During detention after some time, she suffered a heart attack and was immediately taken to hospital with the cooperation of the emergency services.

"Unfortunately, she died and her body was transferred to the medical examiner's office," state television said on Friday, reported Al Jazeera. The announcement came a day after Tehran police confirmed Amini had been detained with other women for "instruction" about the rules.

Following the death of 22-year-old- Mahsa Amini, several women protesters cut their hair and burnt hijabs to protest against the mandatory veiling of women.

Following the incident that sparked fury on social media, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the interior minister to open an inquiry into the case.

Amini's death comes amid growing controversy both inside and outside Iran over the conduct of the morality police, known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad (Guidance Patrol). The mandatory dress code, which applies to all nationalities and religions, not just Iranian Muslims, requires women to conceal their hair and neck with a headscarf, reported Al Jazeera.

Over the decades, women have increasingly pushed back, particularly in the big cities, wearing their headscarves far back on their heads to reveal their hair.

(ANI)

More For You

Salman Rushdie

Rushdie was stabbed about 15 times: in the head, neck, torso and left hand, blinding his right eye and damaging his liver and intestines. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rushdie attack trial begins as jurors shown graphic details

JURORS heard how a knife attack on novelist Salman Rushdie unfolded in a matter of seconds at a 2022 New York talk and how close he came to death, in the prosecutor's opening statement on Monday (10) at the trial of the man accused of trying to murder the author.

A poet introducing the talk, on the subject of keeping writers safe from harm, was barely into his second sentence when defendant Hadi Matar bounded onto the Chautauqua Institution open-air stage and made about 10 running steps towards a seated Rushdie, Chautauqua District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the jury.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Yvette-Cooper-Getty

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said employers had for too long been able to "exploit illegal migrants and too many people have been able to arrive and work illegally with no enforcement action ever taken". (Photo: Getty Images)

Immigration arrests up 73 per cent in January

UK immigration enforcement teams made more than 600 arrests in January, a 73 per cent increase on the same period a year ago, as part of the Labour government's plan to tackle undocumented migration and people smuggling gangs, officials said on Monday (10).

The 609 arrests, compared to 352 in January 2024, were made during visits to 800 premises including nail bars, restaurants, car washes and convenience stores, a government statement said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi-Macron

Modi and Macron will also hold discussions in restricted and delegation-level formats and address the India-France CEO’s Forum. (Photo: X/@narendramodi)

Modi meets Macron and JD Vance in Paris

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron at a dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris. Macron greeted Modi with a hug as they met on Monday.

"Delighted to meet my friend, President Macron in Paris," Modi posted on X.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harshita Brella

The body of the 24-year-old was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on November 14 last year.

Harshita Brella’s family seeks answers as fundraiser launched

AN ASIAN solicitor and businessman has set up a fund in memory of Harshita Brella, who was found murdered in east London in November last year.

The Harshita Brella Memorial Fund, organised by Amrit S Maan OBE JP, aims to support her family as they seek answers about her death.

Keep ReadingShow less
Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

A protestor is detained by the police during a demonstration against the proposed site of the new Chinese Embassy, outside Royal Mint Court, in London. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Protesters rally against China's planned mega-embassy in London

HUNDREDS of demonstrators protested at a site earmarked for Beijing's controversial new embassy in London over human rights and security concerns.

The new embassy -- if approved by the UK government -- would be the "biggest Chinese embassy in Europe", one lawmaker said earlier.

Keep ReadingShow less