‘Love Island’ star Anna Vakili has revealed how she was ARRESTED in Iran for wearing too tight jeans.
The ITV2 dating show contestant recalled being “dragged” into a police van as her family fought to save her from arrest.
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Anna, 31, opened up about the horrific ordeal as she talked about her Iranian heritage on the Johnny Seifert Secure The Insecure podcast.
“I was arrested in Iran for wearing jeans,” Anna began, revealing that her “non-Islamic” outfit was questioned by police.
Explaining how the Iranian government forbids women from “wearing skirts and jeans,” she added that she was arrested for “exposure.”
“It was really scary because I just remember all these policewomen grabbing me and trying to put me in the van,” Anna said.
“They said in Farsi: “Your jeans are too tight, it’s not Muslim” and tried to push me into the car.
“My aunt would grab me and drag me away and say, ‘She’s English, she’s from England, she doesn’t know.’
“I pretended not to speak Farsi and they let me go because I’m from England and I don’t know the law well enough.”
Elsewhere on the podcast, Anna talked about how she dealt with feeling like an outsider as a teenager because of her heritage.
The star detailed that “both of her parents are Iranian” and that she goes to “an Iranian school on the weekends.”
This meant that the islander felt “left out” as she grew up, as she struggled with her cultural identity.
“At school, I never got along with English girls – I was very different when I grew up in a very Iranian family,” Anna explained.
“At the same time, whenever I went to Iran, I also felt different because I was not completely Iranian.
“There was always this: “Who am I?” Now I can say that I am a Persian, but a British Persian. I am both. I really love my roots.”
“I like being different and I love Iranian culture,” she concluded.
This happened shortly after Anna stated that she had been arrested and had spent the night in a cell after she informed the police of her misgivings about the kidnapping.
Anna called the police but ended up in handcuffs for fighting her sister Mandy outside London’s posh Dorchester Hotel.
The star admitted that she drank too much before falling out with her 29-year-old brother and sister.
The couple clashed while waiting for police to arrive on Park Lane just after midnight on April 11 last year.
They were arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Anna threatened to sue the police over the incident.
She told The Sun: “My sister and I sometimes drink too much in central London and we end up fighting each other.
“Mandy scratched my neck and it bled a little. It was the smallest scratch, and worst of all, I called the police!”
Not only does Anna say that the initial kidnapping call was not handled properly, she also claims that the couple were punished for being known.
“I was in the back of the police van in handcuffs and I could see ahead that they were Googled my name,” she added.
The 31-year-old actress rose to fame when she starred in the fourth series of Love Island.
She left the show on her own after getting into an explosive altercation with her boyfriend Jordan Haymes when he split with their co-star India Reynolds behind her back.