US sanctions have undermined Iran’s wrestling teams and the national wrestling federation has cancelled the senior teams’ (freestyle and Greco-Roman) participation in all international tournaments, except one, since the hike in the dollar exchange rate has resulted in high air travel costs and a dramatic rise in overseas expenses.
With 45 days to the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, teams began their training sessions last week in Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported.
On Tuesday the federation announced it will attend the Medved Tournament in Belarus, September 14-16.
But the federation has already canceled the presence of the senior freestyle team in the Stepan Sargsyan Cup in Armenia, September 7-8 and the Ljubomir Ivanovic Gedza Memorial in Serbia, September 28-29, as well as the Alysh (belt wrestling) team in the ongoing World Nomadic Games in Kyrgyzstan.
The currency crisis has not only hurt the senior wrestlers but has forced the federation to also not send five junior teams to international events.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal in May which resulted in reimposition of US sanctions on the country. The sanctions which took effect in August target transactions that involve US dollars, as well as the country’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.
The agreement on the nuclear program of Iran reached in Vienna in July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - plus Germany), and the European Union.
