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Iranian wrestling official urges visa issuance for U.S. wrestlers

Xinhua, February 5, 2017 Adjust font size:

Iran Wrestling Federation urged Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to coordinate visa issuance for the U.S. national squad which is expected to compete in the World Cup competitions held in Iran on Feb. 17-18, semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Saturday.

In a letter to the ministry, Rasoul Khadem, head of the federation, asked the government to reconsider its decision to deny travel visas for the U.S. athletes, Mehr said.

Such denial of visa would adversely affect the quality and rating of the world cup to be held in Iran's Kermanshah city, said Khadem.

Issuing visas "will display Iran's good will in promoting our side in terms of sports diplomacy," he added.

For U.S. Wrestling Federation, despite the political row between the two countries, it still shows interest in attending the competitions in Iran, the report said.

On Friday, Iran's Foreign Ministry said it had decided against the participation of the U.S. freestyle wrestling team in the world cup competitions in the country.

The recent U.S. stances against Iran's citizens made Iran make such a decision, Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said. Endit