Al-Monitor – The president of Iran’s Wrestling Federation, Alireza Dabir, says he was left with “no choice but to cancel” an Iran-US meet after several visa applications submitted by the Iranian delegation were rejected by American authorities.
In a letter to his American counterpart, Dabir lamented the fact that he and five others had been denied their visas and were, therefore, unable to make it to the event in Arlington, Texas, scheduled for Feb. 12.
The federation chief also complained about what he described as US authorities’ “offensive” treatment of one of the Iranian applicants, who had been “interviewed interrogation-style for five hours” at the American consulate in Dubai.
With no formal diplomatic ties between Tehran and the United States, both Iranian and American visa applicants are required to apply via third-party missions to visit the other nation.
Still, the Sydney Olympic medalist offered the American team a visit to Iran, promising them “that my fellow hospitable and wrestling-loving Iranians will welcome you with open arms.”
Dabir did not specify whether US visa officers had explained the grounds on which the applications had been turned down.
But the former champion has been grabbing headlines, sparking controversy and inviting criticism in the run-up to the now-canceled event.
During a televised interview in early January, the federation president went political as he expressed his admiration for Iran’s top general commander, Qasem Soleimani, killed in a US airstrike two years ago.
“We keep chanting ‘death to America,’ but what counts is that we demonstrate that in action,” he said in reference to the slogan that has been at the core of the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary, anti-Western ideology.
Amid the growing criticism in the United States, Dabir received the blessing of Iranian officials. The spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, defended the former wrestler by calling on American authorities to abandon “the politicization of sports.”
Nonetheless, among ordinary Iranians, Dabir’s remarks were interpreted far more different. Many questioned his “death to America remarks” as an explicit contradiction of the fact that he was already holding a US green card.
Yet again, he came out on live television in his own defense, saying he had relinquished his citizenship and handed back his green card to US officials several years ago, telling them “I don’t like your country.”
The visa rejection debate also stirred up the case of Navid Afkari, the wrestler who was executed by Iranian authorities in 2020 despite loud international outcries to halt the verdict.
Afkari was arrested after participating in an anti-government rally in 2017. He was found guilty of killing a security official at the same demonstration. And the proceedings were based on confessions that, he said, had been coerced under extreme torture techniques.
“The Wrestling Federation and [its president] Alireza Dabir left out Navid Afkari hanging to dry, when he was languishing in solitary confinement,” tweeted the former coach of Iran’s Greco-Roman wrestling team, Sardar Pashaei, who is living in exile in the United States.
“Today, Dabir and his companions were denied entry into the US soil. … This small victory is dedicated to the innocent soul of champion Navid Afkari,” Pashaei said.