Iran President Cancels CNN Interview After Refusing to Wear Headscarf

Iran Government Blocks Internet as Protests Intensify

Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran, attending and delivering a speech at the 77th General Assembly held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, on the 21st (local time). Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Bang Je-il] A case occurred in Iran where a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, died under suspicious circumstances after being taken away by the police for not wearing a hijab, sparking nationwide anti-government protests demanding a thorough investigation and opposing the hijab mandate.

Amid this, the Iranian president unilaterally canceled a scheduled interview with a U.S. broadcaster's journalist because she was not wearing a hijab.

According to CNN on the 22nd (local time), Christiane Amanpour, an international correspondent and anchor for the network, had a scheduled interview with Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president, in New York during the UN General Assembly the previous day. Amanpour is an Iranian-American who grew up in Iran.

As Amanpour prepared for the interview, Iranian officials requested that she wear a headscarf. Amanpour refused, and President Raisi did not appear at the interview location.

Amanpour mentioned that while reporting in Iran, she wore a headscarf due to local laws and customs, but when interviewing Iranian officials outside Iran where Islamic law does not apply, there was no need to cover her head.

She said, "I have never been asked by any Iranian president outside Iran, including here in New York, to wear a headscarf. Since 1995, I have interviewed each one of them, and I have never been asked to wear a headscarf either inside or outside Iran."

She explained, "Because it is not a prerequisite, I politely declined on behalf of myself, CNN, and female journalists."

Furthermore, Amanpour relayed that an Iranian official said if she had initially stated she would not wear a headscarf, the interview would not have been arranged at all.

Amanpour added that the official mentioned the hijab wearing as a "matter of respect," considering that the day was Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

According to Iranian law, all women in Iran must cover their heads and wear loose-fitting clothes in public places.

This law has been enforced since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and applies without exception to tourists, politicians, journalists, and others visiting Iran. On passenger flights transiting Middle Eastern countries, female passengers are instructed to cover their heads with scarves before entering Iranian airspace.

◆ Iranian Government Blocks Internet in Major Cities as Protests Escalate

Foreign media including the BBC, citing the Kurdish human rights group Hengaw, reported that as of the 22nd, at least 15 people have died, 450 were injured, and over 1,000 have been arrested.

During the crackdown using live ammunition, tear gas, water cannons, and batons, on the 20th in the northwestern city of Piranshahr, 16-year-old Zakariah Hyal was shot in the head by government forces and died instantly. On the same day in western Kermanshah, a housewife participating in the protests was shot dead. Hengaw reported that the mother of three's body has yet to be handed over to her family.

On the 21st (local time), clashes occurred between protesters and police during a demonstration condemning the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini (22) in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Photo by EPA, Yonhap News

Currently, protests have been ongoing for a week, centered in major Iranian cities. Iranian women enraged by the government's enforcement of the hijab have intensified protests by burning hijabs.

As protests spread to the capital Tehran, security authorities blocked internet access in major cities. NetBlocks, an internet access monitoring organization, reported that Instagram, used by millions in Iran, is inaccessible, and some mobile networks are partially restricted.

Civil society groups in Iran fear that the government's internet restrictions may be a prelude to violent military suppression. During the 2019 protests against fuel price hikes, the Iranian government cut off internet access for about a week before the violent crackdown. At that time, over 1,500 people died due to security forces' shootings.

◆ US and Iran Clash at the UN over ‘Suspicious Death of Woman Not Wearing Hijab’

Following the White House's condemnation of the incident in Iran as a "horrific violation of human rights," President Joe Biden also criticized the situation.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly the previous day, President Biden said, "The United States stands with the brave women of Iran who are taking action to defend their basic rights."

President Raisi, at a press conference in New York on the same day, said, "If there is a responsible party, a thorough investigation must be conducted," and promised the bereaved families that the incident would be thoroughly investigated.

However, based on an autopsy report stating that Amini was not beaten, he emphasized, "I do not want to jump to conclusions."

He also cited cases of civilian killings by U.S. police officers and statistics on murdered women in the UK, accusing Western countries of applying a "double standard" to Iran, saying, "They do not mention child abuse in the U.S. or exploitation of Indigenous peoples in Canada," criticizing the double standard on human rights.

Meanwhile, Iran, a Shia country, recognizes women's social activities more broadly than Sunni countries. However, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, it has mandated women to wear the hijab in public places. During the moderate presidency of Hassan Rouhani, the law was loosely enforced, but since President Raisi took office in August last year, it has been strictly applied.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.