Iran president interview scrapped over headscarf demand

UNITED NATIONS: Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour said on Thursday that an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was scrapped after he insisted she wear a headscarf, the focus of major protests in the cleric-run state.

Amanpour, the chief international anchor of CNN who also has a show on US public broadcaster PBS, said she was ready for the interview on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly when an aide insisted she cover her hair.

"I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves," Amanpour, who was born in Britain to an Iranian father, wrote on Twitter. "I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran," she said.

"I said that I couldn’t agree to this unprecedented and unexpected condition." She posted a picture of herself -- without a headscarf -- sitting in front of an empty chair where Raisi would have been.