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Iran's president refuses to speak to CNN’s correspondent after she refused to wear a hijab for his interview

22 September 2022 17:56 (UTC +04:00)

The president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, canceled his interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour after she refused to wear a headscarf (hijab) while conducting the interview. The interview was scheduled to take place at the UN General Assembly in New York City, APA reports citing CNN.

Interestingly, this decision by the Iranian president to cancel the interview even on American soil over the hijab comes at a time when Iran sees unprecedented protests against the forced practice of hijab in the country. In the wake of the killing of Mahsa Amini over an ‘inappropriate hijab,’ protests have swept through the country against the Islamic regime ruling Iran.

Sharing the news, Amanpour said that the interview was set up after weeks of planning and hours of preparations in setting up equipment. However, President Raisi did not turn up at the scheduled time, and 40 minutes later, one of his aides came up to Amanpour and explained the issue. She was asked to wear a hijab as it is the holy month of Muharram and Safar.

Christiane Amanpour politely declined the request, and then she was told that the interview could not take place unless she wore a hijab. The interview eventually did not take place as Amanpour stuck to her guns and refused to wear a hijab.