Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the death of a young woman that sparked protests in the Islamic republic needed to be investigated but accused Western powers of hypocrisy for raising concerns.
Report informs via i24news.tv that, at a news conference in New York where he attended the UN General Assembly, the clerical leader repeated a coroner's conclusion that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was not beaten by the morality police that detained her last week for not wearing a headscarf properly.
"But I don't want to rush to a conclusion," Raisi said.
"If a party is at fault, it must be investigated. I contacted the deceased's family at the very first opportunity and assured them personally that we will continue to investigate the incident," he added.
Hours after Washington imposed sanctions on the morality police, Raisi accused the West of "double standards," pointing to killings by police in the United States and offering statistics on the deaths of women in Britain.
"Why not call for the same thing for those who lose their lives at the hands of law enforcement and other agents throughout the West - Europe, North America, the United States of America?" he said.
Earlier on September 21, Raisi canceled an interview with CNN's journalist Christiane Amanpour after she refused to wear a headscarf.