The experienced journalist of the American television network, Christiane Amanpour, canceled an interview with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, after he demanded that she cover her head with a scarf during the conversation in New York.
Amanpour pointed out that no previous president had asked for this when she interviewed them outside of Iran.
She says Raisi's assistant told her it was because of "the situation in Iran."
The death of a woman detained in Iran for allegedly violating hijab rules has sparked violent unrest in the country.
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Masha Amini (22) died last week after, as her family claims, police brutality.
She fell into a coma a few hours after the Morality Police arrested her because she was not wearing the hijab in the prescribed manner, that is, her hair was not completely covered.
The officers allegedly beat Amini with a baton and hit her head against one of their vehicles.
The police denied any abuse and claim that the girl's heart suddenly stopped working.
The protests, now in their seventh day, have spread to 80 cities and towns in Iran.
At least 17 people were killed.
The CNN interview would be Raisi's first interview on US soil.
He is participating in the UN General Assembly in New York.
Amanpour said she was preparing for an interview when one of the president's aides insisted she cover her hair and that it was Raisi's request.
"We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding hijabs." she wrote on Twitter.
Amanpour added that Raisi's assistant made it clear that there would be no interview unless she covered her head with a headscarf, saying it was "a matter of respect".
Her team left the interview, rejecting the request.
The American presenter later published a picture without a headscarf in a room where another chair was placed on which the Iranian president was supposed to sit.
President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric who was elected last year, signed a decree on August 15 to implement the new list of restrictions.
These include the installation of security surveillance cameras and fines for uncovered women, as well as referrals to a "counseling center" and mandatory jail time for any Iranian who questions or posts online against the hijab rule.
The restrictions led to an increase in the number of arrests, but also to a wave of posting photos and videos of women without headscarves on social networks - which only intensified in the days after Amini's death.
Analyze
Liz Doucet, Foreign Policy Editor
This is the question that female journalists face when interviewing high-ranking officials of countries where headscarves are mandatory.
When we work in Iran, where covering is mandatory, we have to adhere to it.
In the past, Iranian officials have accepted that the rule does not apply beyond their borders.
But the image of an uncovered journalist of Iranian origin asking questions of an ultra-conservative president about what is now a major problem in his country must be considered too politically risky.
A similar sensitivity is noticeable in Afghanistan, where the Taliban are in power.
Some senior Taliban officials even told me that even a photo of them sitting with a journalist was not allowed.
But some are less strict.
Many of us tend to be guided by what is best to conduct a good interview.
There is a balance between not showing disrespect and not accepting dictates.
But when the interview is about hijabs, then it's a different story.
Watch the video from Iran
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