Iran responds to Trump order by banning wrestlers
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IRAN banned wrestlers from the United States yesterday from participating in the Freestyle World Cup competition this month in response to US President Donald Trump’s executive order forbidding visas for Iranians, the official IRNA news agency reported.
A senior Iranian cleric vowed, meanwhile, that his country would continue its missile program, despite threats from the Trump administration that it was preparing to levy new sanctions.
IRNA quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying a special committee reviewed the case of the US wrestling team and “Eventually the visit by the US freestyle wrestling team was opposed.”
The decision marks the first action taken by Iran in response to Trump’s executive order banning visas for seven Muslim countries. Earlier this week, Iran said it would take retaliatory action.
Ghasemi said the policy of the new US administration left Iran no other choice but to ban the wrestlers.
The competition in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah is scheduled for February 16-17.
USA Wrestling had said it would send a team to the Freestyle World Cup, one of the most prestigious competitions in international wrestling.
Wrestling is extremely popular in Iran and is rooted in an ancient practice of combining the sport with other physical education and meditation.
Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said Iran would continue its missile program despite opposition from the US government.
The Trump administration said on Thursday it was preparing to levy new sanctions on Iran in the first punitive action since the White House put Iran “on notice” after it test-fired a ballistic missile on Sunday.
Khatami said the new US new administration was reiterating an “old message” that had been aired by previous US administrations. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday tweeted a message in which he insisted on improving the country’s military program as a means of defense.
“Iran unmoved by threats as we derive security for our people,” he said. “We’ll never initiate war, but we can only rely on our own means of defense.”
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