The executive director of USA Wrestling said Monday that the American team still plans to compete next month in Iran, one of seven Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were temporarily banned from the U.S. by an executive order from President Donald Trump.
USA Wrestling’s Rich Bender told The Associated Press that the Americans have “every intention” of traveling to Kermanshah for the men’s freestyle World Cup on Feb. 16-17. Bender said the U.S. federation been given assurances from the Iranians that special attention is being given to their applications.
The scheduled trip to Iran will be the first major test for U.S. athletes travelling to one of the seven nations affected by Trump’s 90-day ban, issued last week.
“We’re going to respect the laws and orders of those in leadership positions in government and figure out how to embrace those and work with them to secure proper documentation for athletes to come here and us to go there,” Bender said.
Iran’s senior vice president Ishaq Jahangiri, through the official IRNA news agency, said Monday that Trump’s executive order was “illegal, inhumane and against human rights.”