Iran Ties U.S. Wrestling Event Boycott to

Iran will boycott the United World Wrestling (UWW) U23 World Championships in the United States if even one member of its delegation is denied a U.S. visa. The event is scheduled for October 2026, according to a report from VisaVerge.

Alireza Dabir, president of the Iran Wrestling Federation, said he delivered that condition directly to UWW, the sport's global governing body. His warning follows visa denials for several Iranian coaches before the World Junior Wrestling Championships.

Dabir described the issue as an effort to weaken Iran's teams. He focused on how American authorities treat the delegation, not simply whether it reaches the competition.

The dispute escalates from coaches to full delegation

The immediate dispute began with several Iranian coaches whose entry visas were denied ahead of the junior championships. Dabir linked those refusals to Iran's participation in the U23 event later this year.

He made the broader threat during Iran's National Wrestling Day ceremony. The position communicated to United World Wrestling sets a single-refusal threshold. A denial involving any one team member, rather than only a leading athlete or coach, would trigger the proposed withdrawal.

That dispute now reaches beyond the coaches involved. Iran has connected it to a major international event in the United States. The proposed boycott rests on the treatment of even one delegation member.

Dabir also said in one account, "Our presence alone is not what matters; how we present ourselves is what is important." The comments place Iran's attendance and its treatment on the same plane.

The planned championship will take place in October 2026. Iran's threat therefore concerns a future event, while the visa denials cited by Dabir occurred before the World Junior Wrestling Championships.

Dabir frames visa issue as national obligation

Dabir framed the visa dispute in national and ideological terms during his remarks. He linked the response to sacrifices made by young Iranians.

"Our youth paid the price at the missile launchers, and I must pay my share this way as well," he said. He also referred directly to the denied coaches and to those he called martyrs.

"So what if they denied visas to a few of our coaches? Let it be a sacrifice for those martyrs," Dabir stated. He ended that line of argument with a call for loyalty rather than repeated complaints.

"We cannot just complain all the time. We must stand by our country, our people, and Islam," he said.

The comments give the proposed withdrawal a political dimension. This is in addition to the practical question of whether the delegation can enter the United States.

Dabir's warning does not limit the condition to athletes. It covers the delegation as a whole. This includes coaches and any other member whose visa is required for participation.

October event carries a one-visa condition

The U23 competition is the event Dabir specifically tied to the dispute. United World Wrestling received Iran's position directly from him.

Iran has not framed the warning as a response only to the coaches already refused visas. Instead, the stated condition applies to any member of the team traveling for the October championship.

The sequence leaves the next decision tied to visa outcomes. If the United States denies a visa to one delegation member, Dabir said Iran will not send the team.

The proposed boycott would remove Iran from the United States-hosted event in October 2026. Until then, the dispute remains centered on whether the full delegation will receive permission to enter.