An Oklahoma born porn star has sparked outrage online after she posed for photos in front of the ‘death to America’ murals that were painted on the now-abandoned US embassy in Iran.
Whitney Wright, real name Brittni Rayne Whittington, offered her followers a ‘sweet glimpse’ at her visit to Tehran, the Iranian capital city, by posting photos from her travels to her Instagram page.
Wright, 32, filmed herself at the shut-down embassy, saying that she ‘HAD to visit’ the site where hostages were held for 444 days. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard now runs the building as an anti-America museum.
In a since-deleted post, the adult entertainer said she was ‘sharing exhibits from a museum that are never seen’ and argued her photos were ‘not an endorsement of the government’.
Wright is known for her vehement criticism of Iran’s arch-enemy Israel and has advocated for Palestinians online during the war on Hamas. News of her recent visit comes amid days of US airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The Iran-backed terrorist group is a major backer of Hamas.
Iranian authorities have denied being behind Wright’s visit, claiming she was issued a visa like any other foreign citizen and they had not been aware of her ‘obscene’ profession. Sex work is illegal under Iranian law and can carry the death penalty.
Oklahoma born porn star Whitney Wright, real name Brittni Rayne Whittington, has sparked outrage online after she posed for photos in front of the ‘death to America’ murals that were painted on the now-abandoned US embassy in Iran. She is pictured in front of the mural
![Wright, pictured at the former embassy in Tehan, was also seen posing next to a flagpole at the now anti-American museum, with a torn US flag on the ground](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/15/80920341-13051883-image-a-12_1707234381121.jpg)
Wright, pictured at the former embassy in Tehan, was also seen posing next to a flagpole at the now anti-American museum, with a torn US flag on the ground
![The former embassy in Tehran is dedicated to all-things anti-American. Inside the building is a mural featuring a skeleton-like portrait of the Statue of Liberty calling for death the the US](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/15/80868369-13051883-The_former_embassy_in_Tehran_is_dedicated_to_all_things_anti_Ame-m-15_1707234477228.jpg)
The former embassy in Tehran is dedicated to all-things anti-American. Inside the building is a mural featuring a skeleton-like portrait of the Statue of Liberty calling for death the the US
![Wright (pictured) filmed herself throughout the Iranian capital, Tehran, despite her work in pornography exposing her, in theory, to criminal charges that carry the death penalty](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/15/80920343-13051883-image-a-16_1707234593769.jpg)
Wright (pictured) filmed herself throughout the Iranian capital, Tehran, despite her work in pornography exposing her, in theory, to criminal charges that carry the death penalty
Wright filmed herself at various locations throughout Tehran, including the closed US Embassy, which was shuttered following the severing of U.S.-Iranian diplomatic relations in the wake of the 1979-1981 hostage crisis which saw the taking of staff by Islamic radicals.
Iranian students backing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overran the compound after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
She was seen standing in front of a mural featuring a skeleton-like portrait of the Statue of Liberty, which appears to be part of a series of paintings promoting death to America.
Wright was also seen posing next to a flagpole at the now anti-American museum, with a torn US flag on the ground.
She was dressed in a long enveloping headscarf, trouser suit and long coat well in line with the dress code and a far cry from the usual skimpy garb enjoyed by her 1million followers on Instagram.
Her photos prompted outrage on social media with critics accusing her of supporting one of the ‘most brutal regimes in the world’. Others said they were ‘glad’ she came to Iran and ‘hope you had a good time’.
Wright, who has revealed that she is no longer in Iran, hit back at the criticism of her images from her trip by asking: ‘Posting photos of my Iran trip now means I’m pushing Iran propaganda?’
‘Just sharing what I saw on the inside and outside.’
![Wright appeared entirely covered up during her visit to Iran as she wore a headscarf](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80894465-13049367-image-a-23_1707184805779.jpg)
Wright appeared entirely covered up during her visit to Iran as she wore a headscarf
![More than 50 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80896035-13049367-image-a-34_1707184995348.jpg)
More than 50 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution
![Women burnt their headscarves in September 2022. Protests spread across the Middle East and the West following the death of Masha Amini](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/01/62853331-13049367-Women_burnt_their_headscarves_in_Kurdish_controlled_north_east_S-a-22_1707184707762.jpg)
Women burnt their headscarves in September 2022. Protests spread across the Middle East and the West following the death of Masha Amini
![Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani cited Wright's visit to criticize Iran's hard-line government for its mandatory headscarf policy, which led to the 22-year-old Amini's arrest and death](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80896417-13049367-image-a-17_1707186220957.jpg)
Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani cited Wright’s visit to criticize Iran’s hard-line government for its mandatory headscarf policy, which led to the 22-year-old Amini’s arrest and death
Wright’s posts on Iran have particularly angered Iranian exiles as she showed herself carefully observing the strict Islamic dress code for women in the wake of the 2022 nationwide protests against the obligatory hijab.
Those protests erupted after the September 2022 police custody death of Mahsa Amini who was arrested for allegedly flouting the dress rules.
Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani cited Wright’s visit to criticize Iran’s hardline government for its mandatory headscarf policy, which led to the 22-year-old Amini’s arrest and death.
‘You punish people of this country in various methods for removal of hijab but you allow a porn actress to come here for tourism!?’ Pesiani wrote on Instagram.
‘American porn star Whitney Wright is in Iran, my birth country, where women are killed for simply showing their hair and being true to themselves,’ prominent US-based Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad wrote on X, saying Wright had been ‘completely covered up’ in the images.
‘Iranian women don’t want to obey a discriminatory law,’ she added.
‘We the women of Iran want be like Rosa Parks and not Whitney Wright,’ Alinejad wrote, referencing the UScivil rights icon.
‘The true warmongers are the agents of the Islamic Republic who will execute you if you be true to yourself.’
Iranian actor Setareh Pesiani wrote on Instagram: ‘You punish people of this country in various methods for removal of hijab but you allow a porn star to come here for tourism!?’
Association Femme Azadi, a France-based association for Iranian women, alleged in a post on X: ‘Whitney Wright, an American porn star was invited to Tehran to promote the Islamic republic. They stop at nothing.’
![American-born porn star Whitney Wright, 32, faces accusations of promoting Iranian government propaganda after sharing images of her trip to Iran on social media](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/01/80894429-13049367-image-a-19_1707184569962.jpg)
American-born porn star Whitney Wright, 32, faces accusations of promoting Iranian government propaganda after sharing images of her trip to Iran on social media
![Wright, who has advocated for Palestinians online during Israel's war on Hamas, traveled to Iran and could be seen taking in the sight - albeit fully clothed](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80894407-13049367-image-a-26_1707184902936.jpg)
Wright, who has advocated for Palestinians online during Israel’s war on Hamas, traveled to Iran and could be seen taking in the sight – albeit fully clothed
![The former US Embassy has been turned into an anti-American museum](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80868367-13049367-FILE_The_entrance_to_the_former_U_S_Embassy_which_has_been_turne-a-35_1707185282511.jpg)
The former US Embassy has been turned into an anti-American museum
![People walk past a state-organized, anti-US mural painted on the wall of the former American Embassy in Tehran, Iran in August last year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/15/80920347-13051883-image-a-17_1707234623812.jpg)
People walk past a state-organized, anti-US mural painted on the wall of the former American Embassy in Tehran, Iran in August last year
![The former US Embassy in Tehran abandoned after the 1979 hostage crisis. It now features a series of anti-American murals, included the one pictured above as seen in August 2023](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/15/80920349-13051883-The_former_US_Embassy_in_Tehran_abandoned_after_the_1979_hostage-m-19_1707234692386.jpg)
The former US Embassy in Tehran abandoned after the 1979 hostage crisis. It now features a series of anti-American murals, included the one pictured above as seen in August 2023
Wright’s visit has raised questions about how she was able to enter Iran, especially as her work in pornography exposes her, in theory, to criminal charges that carry the death penalty.
As a US citizen born in Oklahoma City, she would have needed a visa to visit Iran.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the Revolutionary Guard, quoted an anonymous official claiming the government issued Wright a visa while not being ‘aware about the nature of her immoral and obscene occupation.’
The US State Department has also commented on Wright’s visit stressing in a statement how it has warned Americans to avoid travel to Iran and ‘exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detention.’
Americans and those with Western ties can find themselves detained and convicted in secret trials to later be used as bargaining chips in negotiations with Washington.
‘The Islamic Republic of Iran is a primary driver of instability across the Middle East region, and it has been since 1979,’ the State Department said.
‘If Iran actually cared about peace and stability in the Middle East region or the welfare of the people there, it would cease its support for terrorist organizations.’
She has since left Iran, but its unclear how long she stayed in the country.
Wright appears to have been on a tour across the region, also posting images from Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco.
![Wright hit back at the criticism of her images from her trip by asking: 'Posting photos of my Iran trip now means I'm pushing Iran propaganda?'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80894387-13049367-image-a-27_1707184910492.jpg)
Wright hit back at the criticism of her images from her trip by asking: ‘Posting photos of my Iran trip now means I’m pushing Iran propaganda?’
![The Iranian government issued Wright a visa while claiming not to have been 'aware about the nature of her immoral and obscene occupation.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80894437-13049367-image-a-29_1707184930836.jpg)
The Iranian government issued Wright a visa while claiming not to have been ‘aware about the nature of her immoral and obscene occupation.’
![The U.S. State Department has also commented on Wright's visit stressing in a statement how it has warned Americans to avoid travel to Iran and 'exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detention.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/02/80894417-13049367-image-a-28_1707184926498.jpg)
The U.S. State Department has also commented on Wright’s visit stressing in a statement how it has warned Americans to avoid travel to Iran and ‘exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detention.’
The porn star’s Middle Eastern tour appears to have taken place as the US and UK launched retaliatory strikes in Yemen against the Iran-aligned Houthis.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians.
The US and Britain have also carried out strikes in response to the group’s attacks on international shipping, which the Houthis portray as a blockade of Israel.
The attacks are disrupting maritime trade in one of the world’s busiest corridors as freight firms reroute around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal.
A Houthi leader said on Tuesday that the group will further escalate if the Israeli attack on Gaza does not stop.
In a televised speech, Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the group will ‘seek to escalate more and more if the barbaric and brutal aggression against Gaza does not stop, along with the siege of the Palestinian people from whom they deny aid and medicine.’
The group fired naval missiles at two ships in the Red Sea on Tuesday, its military spokesman said, causing damage to Greek-owned Star Nasia and British-owned Morning Tide.
Spokesman Yahya Sarea identified the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands flagged Star Nasia as American. The vessel was carrying US coal to India, marine shipping trackers showed.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egypt’s president on Tuesday as part of a 48-hour, four-nation flurry of shuttle diplomacy in search of a ceasefire in Gaza’s war, while Israel pressed its onslaught in the south of the enclave.
![Houthis operating drones during a military exercise at a remote area on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen, 3 February 2024](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80882737-13051883-Houthis_operating_drones_during_a_military_exercise_at_a_remote_-a-30_1707236162044.jpg)
Houthis operating drones during a military exercise at a remote area on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen, 3 February 2024
![A fleet of United States warships on Sunday joined forces to launch missiles and support strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi targets](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80850617-13051883-A_fleet_of_United_States_warships_have_joined_forces_to_launch_m-a-31_1707236203552.jpg)
A fleet of United States warships on Sunday joined forces to launch missiles and support strikes on Iranian-backed Houthi targets
![The USS Gravely, USS Carney and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower were amongst US warships to have launched missiles at Houthi forces on Sunday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80850317-13051883-The_USS_Gravely_USS_Carney_and_the_USS_Dwight_D_Eisenhower_were_-a-32_1707236221391.jpg)
The USS Gravely, USS Carney and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower were amongst US warships to have launched missiles at Houthi forces on Sunday
![A Houthi trooper takes part in a military exercise at a remote area on the outskirts of Sana'a, Yemen on Saturday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80817777-13051883-A_Houthi_trooper_takes_part_in_a_military_exercise_at_a_remote_a-a-34_1707236266089.jpg)
A Houthi trooper takes part in a military exercise at a remote area on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen on Saturday
![Houthi tribesmen gather after US and UK air strikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen on Sunday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80825339-13051883-Houthi_tribesmen_gather_after_US_and_UK_air_strikes_on_Houthi_po-a-35_1707236268652.jpg)
Houthi tribesmen gather after US and UK air strikes on Houthi positions near Sanaa, Yemen on Sunday
![Houthi fighters are pictured riding vehicles at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the recent Houthi strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on February 4](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/06/16/80850309-13051883-Houthi_fighters_are_pictured_riding_vehicles_at_a_rally_in_suppo-a-36_1707236270829.jpg)
Houthi fighters are pictured riding vehicles at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the recent Houthi strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on February 4
It was Blinken’s first visit to the region since Washington brokered an offer, with Israeli input, for the war’s first extended ceasefire.
Qatar and Egypt conveyed the offer last week to Hamas, which says it wants guarantees Israel will withdraw, before it agrees to free remaining hostages its fighters captured in the Oct. 7 attack that precipitated the war.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Blinken and Saudi Arabia’s ruling crown prince discussed regional steps to achieve an enduring end to the war, tackling the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and limiting regional spillovers of the crisis.
Blinken departed Riyadh just after sunrise and arrived in Cairo where he met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, then swiftly departed for a flight to Qatar. He is due in Israel overnight for consultations on Wednesday morning.
Washington has for weeks sought an elusive deal to secure the release of remaining hostages in return for a long pause to fighting. There was no immediate word from any side whether Blinken’s talks in Riyadh and Cairo had yielded progress.
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