Interview with Iran's president called off after Christiane Amanpour refuses to wear headscarf

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi failed to show up to his first ever interview on U.S. soil after CNN's Christiane Amanpour "politely declined" his demand to wear a head scarf, the reporter said in a Twitter thread Thursday. 

"After weeks of planning and eight hours of setting up translation equipment, lights and cameras, we were ready. But no sign of President Raisi," Amanpour explained. "40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a head scarf, because it's the holy months of Muharram and Safar."

While Amanpour has worn head scarves in the past for interviews in other countries, like Iran or Afghanistan, she noted that she would not wear one in a country where it is not required. CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl interviewed Raisi last week for "60 Minutes," prior to the in-custody death and ensuing protests. The interview took place in Iran's capital of Tehran, and Stahl wore a head covering.