Joss Stone says “a little piece of my heart” has broken after she was deported from Iran.
The British soul singer, who is on a world tour, posted a video of herself on Instagram in which she said: “Well, we got to Iran, we got detained and then we got deported.
“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.”
The 32-year-old star posted images purportedly showing her boarding a flight to Iran’s Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, which is an economic free zone that allows travel by all nationalities.
She said authorities refused to believe she was not planning a performance in the Islamic Republic but a translator helped her tell immigration guards about her world tour.
Earlier this year, Stone crossed the border into Syria to perform in the war-torn country, before staging a small gig in North Korea as part of plans to play in every country in the world.
In her latest Instagram post, she said: “I told them my story and explained my mission to bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look the positives of our globe, all with the understanding that public performance wasn’t an option in this scenario.
“I still have to walk forward towards that goal some way, somehow. And of course music is my driver. Doesn’t mean we have to break any laws, though.
“There is music everywhere, even here. We just have to play by their rules and they have to believe we will. It’s a trust thing.”
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So , our very last country on the list was Iran . 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 authority’s don’t believe we wouldn’t be playing a public show so they have popped us on what they call the ‘black list ‘ as we found out when we turned up to the immigration hall. 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. Then I realised the silver lining was bright. I told them my story and explained my mission, to bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look, the positives of our globe. All with the understanding that public performance wasn’t an option in this scenario. I still have to walk forward towards that goal some way some how. And of course music is my driver. Doesn’t mean we have to brake any laws though. There is music everywhere. Even here, we just have to play by there rules and they have to believe we will. It’s a trust thing. They were so kind to us, at one point I started to question it. The question whirled around my head, were they just luring is into a false sense of security so we would walk into our jail cells quietly with out a drama? Nope , these people are genuinely nice kind people that felt bad that they couldn’t over ride the system. They didn’t speak English so well so the translator Mohamed, who clearly had a lovely soul conveyed the message that they hoped we would go to embassy to sort it all out and come back, they were refusing us entry with a heavy heart and were so sorry. After Mo had left, the officers kept telling us sorry. They said sorry all the way through this process and kept saying this till we got on the plane they were sending us away on. We were the ones that should have been apologising for not having our correct paper work. The ball
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Stone says Iranian authorities informed her she would be detained overnight and then deported, adding: “This moment broke a little piece of my heart.”
The Iranian government is yet to comment on Stone’s claims.
Iran forbids women to perform in the country and, in May, Iranian singer Negar Moazzam was summoned to court for singing to tourists.
Stone shot to fame in 2003 with her best-selling debut album The Soul Sessions.
Her chart-topping singles include Fell In Love With A Boy.
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