Visas will be granted for United States wrestlers to attend a World Cup event in Iran following pressure from sporting bodies, it has been promised today.
Writing on Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif confirmed how, “following the court ruling suspending Muslim Ban and the requests from the Iranian Wrestling Federation and FILA [sic, now known as United World Wrestling], US wrestlers’ visa will be granted”.
The US team is now expected to compete at the Freestyle World Cup event scheduled for February 16 and 17 in Kermanshah.
Their participation had appeared unlikely following retaliation to restrictions imposed on Iranian immigration into the US by President Donald Trump.
Trump’s executive order, signed on January 27, prohibited citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries – also including Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – from being granted entry to the US for a 90-day period.
A Federal Judge blocked the ban yesterday but the Trump administration has vowed to overturn this.
It had appeared that Iranian authorities would not be swayed, but their apparent U-turn could be seen as a victory for the bargaining power of world sport.
By Nick Butler
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.