- Alireza Dabir said Iran will boycott the UWW U23 World Championships if one delegation member is denied a U.S. visa.
- The warning follows visa denials for several Iranian coaches before the World Junior Wrestling Championships.
- Iran tied its participation to the October twenty twenty-six event and told United World Wrestling the condition directly.
Alireza Dabir warned that Iran will boycott the 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.
The president of the Iran Wrestling Federation said he had delivered that condition to United World Wrestling, the sport’s global governing body. The warning follows visa denials involving several Iranian coaches before the World Junior Wrestling Championships.
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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.
“I have told the president of United World Wrestling that if the United States does not issue a visa to even one member of our team, we will definitely not send the team.”
Dabir also said: “They are trying to weaken our teams by denying visas to our coaches.” He added, “Being there is not what matters; how we are treated matters.”
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.
The visa dispute has moved from coaches to the entire delegation
Dabir made the threat during Iran’s National Wrestling Day ceremony. He is identified as the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran Wrestling Federation.
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.
The warning followed reports dated August 26, 2026 and August 28, 2026 about the same visa-denial dispute. The affected people identified in the accounts are several Iranian coaches who sought entry before the junior competition.
That dispute now reaches beyond the coaches involved. Iran has connected it to a major international event in the United States, with the proposed boycott resting 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 cast the dispute as a 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 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 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.”
The comments give the proposed withdrawal a political dimension 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, including coaches and any other member whose visa is required for participation.
The October championship now 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.
