Joss Stone ‘detained and deported’ from Iran on final stop of world tour
‘Personally I don’t fancy going to an Iranian prison,’ Stone wrote on Instagram
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Your support makes all the difference.Joss Stone has claimed that she has been “detained and deported” from Iran, after immigration authorities declared that it was unlikely that the singer would not perform a public concert.
The Devon-born star was in the country for the last stop of her Total World Tour, which has so far visited every country in the world. Prior to her arrival in Iran, Stone had played in Syria, Iraq and North Korea.
In an Instagram comment posted alongside a video in which Stone appears wearing a white headscarf, she wrote: “We were aware there couldn’t be a public concert as I am a woman, and that is illegal in this country. Personally, I don’t fancy going to an Iranian prison, nor am I trying to change the politics of the countries I visit, nor do I wish to put other people in danger.
“However, it seems the authorities don’t believe we wouldn’t be playing a public show so they have popped us on what they call the ‘blacklist’, as we found out when we turned up to the immigration hall.”
She continued: “After long discussions with the most friendly, charming and welcoming immigration people, the decision was made to detain us for the night and to deport us in the morning. Of course I was gutted. So close yet so far; this moment broke a little piece of my heart.
“We were the ones that should have been apologising for not having our correct paperwork.”
Stone posted images of herself boarding a flight to Iran’s Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, which is an economic free zone that allows travel by all nationalities but can also be a dangerous place for westerners.
This year Stone travelled to Syria to perform there, and later said she was “just so glad nothing bad happened”.
Additional reporting by Press Association
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