CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour declined to wear a head scarf in front of Iran's president, walking away from the interview amid ongoing hijab protests over the death of Mahsa Amini

• CNN's Christiane Amanpour walked away from a long-anticipated interview with Iran's president.

• The anchor "politely declined" to wear a head scarf since the interview took place on US soil.

• Her decision follows a history of women journalists declining to wear the clothing for interviews.

CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour walked away from a rare and highly-anticipated interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday after she declined to wear a head scarf.

Amanpour's decision came amid ongoing protests in Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after she was arrested on suspicion of breaking hijab rules.

On Twitter, Amanpour said that Raisi was late to the interview in New York and received a last-minute request to wear a head scarf from one of the president's aides.

"40 minutes after the interview had been due to start, an aide came over. The president, he said, was suggesting I wear a headscarf, because it's the holy months of Muharram and Safa," Amanpour tweeted on Thursday. "I politely declined. We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves. I pointed out that no previous Iranian president has required this when I have interviewed them outside Iran."

The president's aide said that the interview "would not happen if I did not wear a head scarf" and that the piece of clothing was a "matter of respect," Amanpour wrote.

Raisi, who spoke at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, did not directly address the issue of headscarves but previously stated that he had contacted Amini's family, amid ongoing demonstrations over the death of the young woman.

"Your daughter is like my own daughter, and I feel that this incident happened to one of my loved ones," he said.

Amanpour's case is not the first time a reporter declined to wear clothing that is compulsory for women in Iran.