Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have sought to win over Iranians in an interview with British Persian-language television, but a casual assertion that they were banned from wearing jeans won only gentle ridicule from some of his audience.
Mr Netanyahu has watched with some concern a diplomatic drive by new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to build warmer ties with the United States and other Western powers and achieve an easing of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.
But his statements in an interview with the BBC Persian television on the need for Iran to end its uranium enrichment programme were somewhat overshadowed by his comments on fashion freedoms allowed to Iranians by their government.
"I think if the Iranian people had freedom, they would wear jeans, listen to Western music, and have free elections," Mr Netanyahu said in the interview, which was dubbed into Persian and released late on Saturday.
That statement drew a barbed reaction from Iran where, though women are required to cover their hair and wear loose clothing in public, jeans are not forbidden. Much Western music is illegal, but people find a way to listen to it at home. » | Reuters | Monday, October 07, 2013
