JERUSALEM (AP) — An American porn actor who has advocated for Palestinians on-line throughout Israel’s war on Hamas traveled to Iran and visited the previous U.S. Embassy in Tehran, which was deserted after the 1979 hostage disaster.
The go to by Whitney Wright as Iran imprisons Nobel Peace Prize laureate and women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi sparked heated criticism of the nation’s crackdown on ladies since the 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini and the nationwide protests it sparked.
Wright filmed herself all through Tehran regardless of her work in pornography exposing her in concept to prison prices that carry the loss of life penalty.
Wright didn’t reply to requests for remark from The Related Press. However in remarks on social media, she described the U.S. Embassy as a spot she “HAD to go to.” Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now runs it as a museum.
Iranian college students backing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overran the compound after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Embassy employees members taken hostage have been held for 444 days. A direct line will be drawn between that disaster and the tensions between Iran and the U.S. today.
“I am sharing displays from a museum which are by no means seen,” Wright wrote on Instagram. “It is not an endorsement of the federal government.”
As a U.S. citizen born in Oklahoma Metropolis, Wright would wish a visa for her go to. Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t reply to questions in regards to the actor’s journey.
Iranian International Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani was requested about Wright throughout a Monday briefing and mentioned he had no details about her. Wright has shared pro-Palestinian data on-line, together with materials supporting armed militancy towards Israel.
Her journey instantly drew consideration.
Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani criticized Iran’s hard-line authorities for its obligatory scarf coverage, which led to the 22-year-old Amini’s arrest and loss of life.
“You punish individuals of this nation in numerous strategies for elimination of hijab however you enable a porn actress to return right here for tourism!?” Pesiani wrote on Instagram.
Masih Alinejad, a U.S.-based activist who has faced assassination and kidnapping attempts by Iran, additionally denounced Wright’s go to.
“We the ladies of Iran need be like Rosa Parks and never Whitney Wright,” Alinejad wrote, referencing the U.S. civil rights icon. “The true warmongers are the brokers of the Islamic Republic who will execute you when you be true to your self.”
In 2016, a British porn actor known as Candy Charms traveled to Iran, prompting speedy criticism. However there’s been no media protection of Wright’s go to inside Iran, possible an indication of how tightly managed journalists are after the 2022 demonstrations.
Then there’s Israel’s conflict on Hamas within the Gaza Strip. Iranian state media have seized on the U.S. help of Israel to criticize the U.S. and opponents of its theocracy. Abdolreza Davari, a media adviser to former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has as properly.
“Israel is absolute evil and filth,” he wrote on X, previously Twitter, in October. “We are going to stand by anybody who fights towards Israel, even when that particular person is Mia Khalifa, a former porn star who has cleared her report of cruelty and corruption by brazenly supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation and combating Zionist crimes.”
Requested about Wright’s go to, the U.S. State Division advised the AP in an announcement that it has warned Individuals to keep away from journey to Iran and “train elevated warning as a result of danger of wrongful detention.” Individuals and people with Western ties can discover themselves detained and convicted in secret trials to later be used as bargaining chips in negotiations with Washington.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major driver of instability throughout the Center East area, and it has been since 1979,” the State Division mentioned. “If Iran really cared about peace and stability within the Center East area or the welfare of the individuals there, it might stop its help for terrorist organizations.”
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