CNN journalist Christian Amanpour refused to wear a veil for an interview with Iran’s president

CNN’s star journalist Christian Amanpour said Thursday that she refused to wear a veil to interview Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi in New York, which she said canceled a face-to-face meeting with the Iranian head of state. AFP reported.

According to Twitter messages from the head of CNN’s international division, an adviser to the Iranian president came to see him “40 minutes after the interview was supposed to start,” saying that Ibrahim Raisi “recommends.” Journalists wear veils, “because they are the holy months of Mauharram and Safar”.

Amanpour refused to comply with the request, and the Iranian adviser explained to him that the interview, which was to take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, would not take place under these conditions.

“The interview did not happen. In a context where protests continue and people are being killed in Iran, it would have been important to talk to President Raisi,” concluded Christian Amanpour, posting a photo of himself in front of an empty chair.

Over the past week, Iranians have taken to the streets in several cities across the country to protest the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died while in police custody after being detained because her clothing did not fully conform to Islamic norms. And the veil was not worn properly, AFP reports, citing Agerpres.

According to the Iranian government, at least 17 people were killed in the protests, but Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said at least 31 civilians had been killed in the past six days.

See also  The EU has given Hungary a month to act on the legislation before suspending funding

Amanpour was born in the West London suburb of Ealing to Mohammed Taghi and Patricia Anne Amanpour. His father is Iranian, from Tehran, a Shia Muslim, and his mother is Catholic. Amanpour was raised in Tehran until the age of 11.

Author: Liviu Kojan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *