Iran Wrestling Federation: Iran Will Not Go to the U.S. Without Mohammad Talai and His Associates

The Iran Wrestling Federation announced on Saturday that if the U.S. Embassy in Turkey does not issue visas for Mohammad Talai, the captain of the Iranian national freestyle wrestling team, and six referees and associates, the Iranian team will not attend the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in New York. According to IRNA news agency, this statement was made during a meeting on Saturday morning attended by the president, vice president, secretary, head of the referees committee, and head of public relations of the wrestling federation. The situation is that after persistent follow-ups by the wrestling federation and repeated contacts with the International Wrestling Federation (FILA), the U.S. Embassy in Ankara confirmed the issuance of visas for 17 members of the Iranian delegation to the 2003 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships, but as of Saturday morning, the visa for captain Mohammad Talai and several referees and associates had not yet been issued, which has led to the objection of the Iranian wrestling federation. In this regard, the wrestling federation has lodged a complaint with FILA President Rafi Martinetti and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, stating that if the visas for Mohammad Talai and the other six are not issued by Tuesday, when the Iranian team will travel to Istanbul, they will refrain from going to New York. Mohammad Reza Taleghani stated that they have made every effort and respected the regulations set by the Americans, and to prove this, they will travel to Istanbul with all members introduced to the organizing committee for the championship to obtain the remaining visas and head to New York. However, if the Americans respond to this cooperation with non-cooperation, they will not go to the U.S. He emphasized that the Iranian team will never go to the U.S. without their captain and expressed hope that the U.S. Embassy officials would resolve the visa issues for Talai and the other team members before their departure to Istanbul so that the Iranian team could travel to New York without hassle. Taleghani also mentioned that an emergency meeting would be held at 3 PM today (Tehran time) with Mr. Mehralizadeh, the head of the Physical Education Organization, to determine the organization's final position on this matter. He noted that in a letter sent by the U.S. Wrestling Federation to the Iranian Wrestling Federation, it was confirmed that visas for 17 members of the Iranian team had been issued, while the issuance of visas for the other members is still under review.