United Nations, September 20 (RHC)-- Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in New York that more than one thousand people were killed by police in the United States last year, citing official data and reports, and asked why the mainstream media failed to investigate and report thoroughly on the matter.

In meeting with senior U.S. media executives, the Persian leader also drew attention to a recent incident in the U.S. where a woman suspected of shoplifting was killed by three policemen, and questioned why the Western media did not follow up on the issue of the charges against that person.

The Iranian president also expressed concern about the lack of Western media attention to race-based hate crimes, and asked why attacks on people because of their ethnicity or skin color do not receive significant coverage and attention.

In another question regarding the defense of women's rights, Raisi highlighted the issue of discrimination against Muslim girls who choose to wear the hijab (Islamic veil) in countries such as France, and criticized that they have been excluded from education and the media does not address this issue either.

In another question to U.S. media executives, he asked why Israel is not being questioned about nuclear warheads it has stockpiled. "Why isn't it being asked for what reason it possesses nuclear power," he said.

Raisi noted that more than 180,000 people were killed and more than 35,000 children were disabled during the two decades of U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.

He questioned why that large number of casualties was not a priority for the mainstream media, especially considering the fact that billions of US taxpayers' dollars have been spent on that war.

The Iranian president regretted that nuclear activities, human rights, women's rights and hijab are often used as excuses for selective media coverage in the West, considering the use of these issues as mere excuses to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran as an independent country. (Source: HISPANTV)