Politics

Trump Admin Tries To Step In As Reports Surface That Iran Will Execute 19-Year-Old Wrestling Star

(Mehr via Wikimedia Commons)

The Trump administration is working to intervene as reports indicate Iran is preparing to execute a 19-year-old wrestling champion for his involvement in anti-regime protests.

Saleh Mohammadi, a rising wrestling star, was arrested by Iranian security forces on Jan. 15 after participating in demonstrations and now faces imminent execution, according to Iran International, a news operation based in London. The State Department on Thursday called on Tehran to halt the execution, warning that the Islamic Republic is “massacring young people and destroying Iran’s future.”

“The United States is deeply concerned by reports about Saleh Mohammadi, a 19-year-old wrestling champion, who faces imminent execution,” the official Farsi language X account for the State Department posted on Jan. 29. “We call on the Iranian regime to immediately halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all individuals who have been sentenced to death for seeking their fundamental rights.”

The planned execution is part of the Islamic regime‘s broader crackdown on protesters. The unrest began in late December in response to Iran’s struggling economy under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but evolved into a broader uprising against the country’s clerical regime.

Two senior officials from Iran’s Ministry of Health told TIME that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed in the protests on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, according to the government’s internal count, though TIME was unable to independently verify that figure at the time.

As protests spread across Iran earlier this month, Olympic wrestler Alireza Nejati was also imprisoned after posting what appeared to be a benign message on his social media, according to the New York Post.

“I wish everyone a beautiful weekend full of success and good vibes,” the 27-year-old posted on Jan. 7. “This is the end.”

Iranian forces also killed 19-year-old wrestler Shahbab Fallahpour during a street protest on Jan. 9, according to the outlet. Another wrestling star, 26-year-old Yashar Soltanirad, was gunned down during protests in Tehran the same day, according to the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights.

International sports bodies have offered responses to reports of the arrests and murders.

“At this moment in time, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes impacted by the events unfolding in their country – as we are with all athletes who face conflict and tragedies elsewhere in the world,” the IOC said in a statement to Reuters. “Unfortunately, these situations are more regularly brought to our attention due to the increasingly divided world in which we live.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said the U.S. would “take very strong action” if Iran followed through on threats to execute detained protesters. The president further warned on Wednesday that a military response “far worse” than the June strike on its nuclear facilities would follow if Tehran fails to agree to a U.S.-proposed “fair and equitable” nuclear deal.