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The executive director of USA Wrestling said Monday that the American team still plans to compete next month in Iran, one of seven Muslim-majority countries whose citizens were temporarily banned from the U.S. by an executive order from President Donald Trump.

USA Wrestlings Rich Bender told The Associated Press that the Americans have every intention of travelling to Kermanshah for the mens freestyle World Cup on Feb. 16-17. Bender said the U.S. federation been given assurances from the Iranians that special attention is being given to their applications.

The scheduled trip to Iran will be the first major test for U.S. athletes travelling to one of the seven nations affected by Trumps 90-day ban, issued last week.

Were going to respect the laws and orders of those in leadership positions in government and figure out how to embrace those and work with them to secure proper documentation for athletes to come here and us to go there, Bender said.

Irans senior vice-president Ishaq Jahangiri, through the official IRNA news agency, said Monday that Trumps executive order was illegal, inhumane and against human rights.

The U.S. and Iran two of the worlds top wrestling countries have long found common ground on the mat. The U.S. wrestling team was the first American sports team to compete in Iran in nearly 20 years back in 1998, and the Iranian team has competed in the U.S. 16 times since the 1990s.

Wrestling has shown a long, rich history of transcending politics and participating despite governmental disagreements, Bender said. Thats the beauty of sport and the Olympic movement. Its about competition, not politics.

USA Wrestling plans to send 13 wrestlers, two coaches, a referee, a medical staff member, a videographer and other official delegates to Kermanshah, which is in western Iran some 310 miles southwest of Tehran.

The annual World Cups in each discipline are among the most prestigious tournaments in the world. Iran will also host the Greco-Roman World Cup in Tehran in March.

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US wrestlers plan to travel to Iran despite Trump's ban - The Globe and Mail