LOVE Island star Anna Vakili has revealed how she was ARRESTED in Iran for wearing jeans that fitted too tightly.
The ITV2 dating show contestant recalled how she was “dragged” into a police van as her family fought to save her from going into custody.
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Anna, 31, opened up about the horrific ordeal as she discussed her Iranian heritage on Johnny Seifert’s Secure The Insecure podcast.
“I got arrested in Iran for wearing jeans,” Anna began, revealing that her “non-Islamic” outfit was questioned by police.
Explaining how the Iranian government prevents women “wearing skirts and jeans”, she added she was arrested for being “revealing”.
“It was really scary because I just remember all these police women grabbing me and trying to put me in the van,” Anna said.
“They were saying in Farsi, ‘Your jeans are too tight and it’s not Islamic’, and they were trying to push me into the car.
“My auntie was grabbing me and pulling me away and saying, ‘She’s English, she’s from England, she doesn’t know’.
“I pretended that I couldn’t speak Farsi and they let me go because I was from England and I didn’t know the laws enough.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Anna opened up about how she dealt with feeling like an outsider in her teens due to her heritage.
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The star detailed how “both her parents are Iranian” and that she went to “Iranian school on weekends”.
It meant that the Islander felt “left out” growing up as she grappled with her cultural identity.
“I never really did fit in with the English girls in school – I was very different growing up in a very Iranian household,” Anna explained.
“At the same time whenever I used to travel to Iran I felt different to them as well because I wasn’t fully Iranian.
“There was always that, ‘which one am I?’ Now I can say that I’m Persian, but British Persian. I’m both. I do love my roots.”
“I like being different and I love the Iranian culture,” she concluded.
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It comes shortly after Anna made claims she had been arrested and spent the night in a cell – after telling the police her kidnap fears.
Anna called the cops but found herself handcuffed for fighting with her sister Mandi outside of posh London hotel The Dorchester.
The star admitted to having too much to drink before getting into an argument with her 29-year-old sibling.
The pair clashed while waiting for Met police to arrive at the scene on Park Lane, just after midnight on April 11 last year.
They were arrested on suspicion of common assault. Anna has threatened to sue police over the incident.
She told The Sun: “My sister and I sometimes have a bit too much to drink in central London, and we end up getting into arguments with each other.
“Mandi scratched my neck and it was bleeding a bit. It was the tiniest little scratch, and the worst part of this is, that I called the police!”
Not only does Anna say the initial kidnap call wasn’t dealt with properly, she also claims the pair were punished for being famous.
“I was in the back of the police van with handcuffs on, and I could see at the front that they were googling my name,” she added.
The 31-year-old shot to fame when she starred in Love Island series 4.
She left the show single after getting into an explosive row with her boyfriend Jordan Hames when he cracked on with their co-star India Reynolds behind her back.
