Iran's president Ibrahim Raisi, he bailed on an interview with and
it's supposed to be in New York with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
Over her refusal to wear a headscarf.
This whole cancelation that came as process as we know are flaring in Iran
over the death of a 20 year old woman.
Detained in Iran for allegedly breaking headscarf rules.
It's all coming full circle here.
So some details of how this whole thing went down and
what Christiane Amanpour was saying here.
So in a series of tweets, the chief international anchor of CNN said that she
had been scheduled to meet with Raisi on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.
And had planned to ask him about various topics.
Of course, including the outbreak of protests in Iran following
the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
Now more on that whole thing that happened with her.
Protesters battled police in the wake of the death of the 22 year old Mahsa Amini
in police custody.
She had been arrested last week by Iranian morality police.
Because her headscarf was allegedly too loose to comply with the nation strictly
enforced Islamic clothing restrictions for women.
Police claimed that she died of heart failure but
her family said that she was in perfect health with no history of heart problems.
Now, first word back to New York and Christiane Amanpour and
this interview that's supposed to happen.
Raisi was already 40 minutes late for
this interview Wednesday night at the UN headquarters in Manhattan.
When his aide suddenly told Amanpour that the president needed her to wear
a headscarf, is what she tweeted about this.
She goes, the aide made it clear that the interview would not happen if I did not
wear the headscarf.
He said it was quote, a matter of respect and referred to quote again.
The situation in Iran alluding to this protest that we were just talking about.
Now, Amanpour grew up in Tehran and she said,
she's always had worn a headscarf working in Iran because it's the custom.
But then again this is not Tehran, Amanpour,
she declined the request and she explained that we are in New York.
Where there's no law or tradition regarding headscarf.
She added that no other Iranian president has required that she wear a headscarf
when she interviewed them outside of Iran.
So, he was disrespected as he pointed out and he never even showed up.
So she pointed out and posted this picture.
She goes and so we walked away.
The interview didn't happen.
And as protests continue in Iran and people are being killed.
It would have been an important moment to speak with the president Raisi.
And she also later said this, I think that he did not wanna be seen with the female
without a headscarf in this moment.
And to point out that at least 31 people have died in the six days of protests,
since the young woman's death over a headscarf.
So it became a battle you guys of image versus what we're actually gonna say.
And the image apparently was something that was more important to Raisi than it
was to Amanpour.
And this was something that just probably wasn't gonna have much in the first place,
especially with the slaying tensions.
>> So look, I don't want my Muslim brothers and sisters to get mad at me.
But please don't be a Dennis praguer and not understand what an analogy is, okay?
So, you asked me to respect your views, but its views I don't share.
So, what if I ask you to respect views you don't share?
And I said, look,
I won't talk to you unless you have an orange cone on your head.
You have to put the orange cone on your head?
I say no, look, that's your beliefs, that's not my beliefs.
Why do I have to do the thing that is in your belief system and not mine,
there's some cultures and religions that say.
You have to completely grow your hair out and your beard out.
So you have to grow a giant beard before I talk to them.
Do I have to stop using technology before I start talking to an Amish person?
It's your religion, not my religion, okay?
So, why don't you respect my beliefs and talk to me as a person,
as a human being, okay?
But they're not gonna do that.
I know it's because of domestic politics, and which leads us to the second point.
Domestic politics and are on their disaster,
it's a totally oppressive government.
And you wore your headscarf a little loose and next thing,
you wind up dead, but guys, it's important to do nuance.
We don't live in a black and white binary world, because then, mainstream media and
mainstream politicians will take that fact.
And say that's why we shouldn't have a peace deal with Iran.
No, no, no, no no no, no.
Just because it's an oppressive government doesn't mean we have to kill tons of
their citizens.
And lose tons of our citizens by starting a disastrous war, right?
But call it what it is,
there's no question that the mullahs that run Iran run an oppressive government.
>> Yeah, 100%, and what's really so heartbreaking about this is because
anytime I hear anything about some horrific thing happening in Iran.
I can't help but think about how, this is because the CIA at one point
in time thought that aligning themselves with.
And helping to store extreme far right fundamentalist movements around the world
was an easy way to basically support the United States economic policies abroad.
Because fundamentally with the coup attempt that come from the United States.
Is the reason why Iran is in the situation they were,
if you look at Iran, the sixties and seventies.
It looks like a completely different place and one of the things that's really
frustrating that we should all really understand.
Is that the leaders in Iran, my guess is, probably kind of the idea that
the United States is constantly trying to instigate war and things like that.
Because then, anybody who is part of the large group of people in Iran,
who want more open policies, right?
Who want more freedom in this regard can be painted as just, you're a stooge for
the United States.
You're a stooge for the United States.
And so there's this constant tension where fundamentally militarism from
the United States.
Actually, helps them maintain their system because it gives them an easy
justification to continue.
Repressive policies and things like that.
>> Now with, yeah, go ahead, go.
>> Yeah, I just love the history lessons that Ben's given today, okay?
So if that's 100% right,
if we had not orchestrated a coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh,
their democratically elected prime minister.
None of this would have happened.
They would have never had those mullahs take over.
They would have never had a Muslim revolution like that.
They had a fundamentalist revolution like they had and
we want 100% created this monster one and what's our solution.
Bomb their citizens, no, it's just honestly our
politicians that much less corrupt than their mullahs.
Because at the end of the day does
a mullah actually care about the headdress, no.
The mullahs cares about the money stuffing into his corrupt pockets.
The Iranian revolutionary guard and all the folks that are in charge in Iran.
Their number one issue isn't Islam,
it's just a gag, okay?
Capitalism here in America whatever, pathology you wanna attach.
The people in power do not give a damn about it.
All they care about is give me all of your money.
I'm gonna stop it into my pockets and that's the leader of Iran.
But honestly that's also us but
it wasn't most of [INAUDIBLE] the guy that we got rid of.
The only thing you wanna do, was for Iran to own its own natural resources and
the United States and great Britain said.
How dare you not let us rob your people.
That's what got us into this mess.