The United States Will Not Participate in the World Wrestling Championships in Iran

The United States has decided not to participate in the World Wrestling Championships to be held next month in Iran. The U.S. Wrestling Federation stated in a press release that it received credible information from an official U.S. government source indicating that the American wrestling team would likely be in danger if it traveled to Iran. The U.S. Wrestling Federation adds that the Iranian government has not provided any guarantees regarding the safety of American wrestlers. The U.S. Wrestling Federation has requested the International Wrestling Federation to relocate the event to a country whose government can ensure the safety of all teams. Last year, the World Wrestling Championships were moved from New York to Greece and Bulgaria due to the terrorist attacks on September 11 on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. This decision ends what became known as 'wrestling diplomacy.' In recent years, despite official hostility, the U.S. and Iran had engaged in friendly contact in the sport of wrestling. American wrestlers have traveled to Iran four times since 1998 without any issues, and Iranian wrestlers have participated in competitions held in the U.S. at least ten times since 1995. Meetings between American and Iranian wrestlers were seen as a sign of potential improvement in Tehran-Washington relations after twenty years of severed ties. U.S.-Iran relations were cut off following the occupation of the U.S. embassy by supporters of the Islamic Republic regime in Tehran in 1979. This year, relations between Iran and the U.S. worsened following President Bush's remarks categorizing Iran as part of an 'axis of evil' alongside Iraq and North Korea. The President's reference to the 'axis of evil' indicated the existence of countries supporting terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction.