Global outrage erupts as Iranian activists and athletes condemn Tehran regime over execution of young wrestler Saleh Mohammadi

The execution of Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, just 19, has unleashed a wave of angry reactions against the regime in Tehran, which is now facing calls for a boycott by Olympic athletes who condemned the killing of the youth champion.

Mohammadi was executed by public hanging in the city of Qom, according to activists and human rights organizations.

The young man had been arrested after participating in the widespread protests against the regime, in a process that various observers described as irregular and lacking in basic rights, a routine situation in the Iranian country.

According to reports, Mohammadi was convicted along with two other men — Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi — accused of killing policemen during the demonstrations. However, activists contend that the case was marked by coerced confessions, allegations of torture and the absence of due process, prompting harsh criticism from Iranian activists and even the State Department.

"The United States is deeply concerned by reports that 19-year-old wrestling champion Saleh Mohammadi faces imminent execution. The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is slaughtering young people and destroying Iran's future. We call on the Iranian regime to halt the execution of Saleh Mohammadi and all those sentenced to death for exercising their fundamental rights," the State Department had said in a message in Persian that went unheeded by the Iranian regime.

Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad was among the first to react to the execution, denouncing the various irregularities in the process.

"Today, in Iran, in the middle of a war, the regime executed a 19-year-old national wrestling champion for the crime of joining the January protests. After signaling to the world, including President @realDonaldTrump, that they would halt executions of protesters, the regime has done the exact opposite. Three young protesters, Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi, were hanged in Qom after a sham trial. Reports indicate torture. Forced confessions. No access to chosen lawyers. Closed-door proceedings. No right to appeal. I call on @GlobalAthleteHQ to stand with Iranian athletes who are being silenced, imprisoned, and executed simply for raising their voices. This is not just about sports. This is about human dignity."

The reactions were manifold and the calls for boycott constant.

Alireza Nader, an expert on Iran, said, "I feel very bad for him and his family. There should be a boycott of the regime when it comes to international sport. I do worry about individual athletes who will be impacted by this, as athletes in Iran are enduring very harsh conditions, including some reported as being virtual hostages by the regime. But there must be a heavy price for the regime for executing young people like this. There must be a deterrent."

In an interview with Fox News, Nima Far, Iranian human rights activist and combat athlete, condemned the International Associated Wrestling Federation (UWW) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for leaving Mohammadi virtually alone.

"The IOC [International Olympic Committee] and UWW [United World Wrestling] should have intervened forcefully with public ultimatums, threatening immediate suspension of Iran’s NOC [National Olympic Committee] and federations if the killing proceeded rather than relying on ineffective quiet diplomacy, given their own commitments to protect athletes from politically motivated harm," he said.

According to United Nations, in 2025 alone the Iranian regime executed more than 1,500 people. Most of the cases were widely criticized for the lack of safeguards in a country marked by repression, forced disappearances and allegations of torture. In recent weeks, amid mass protests against the regime due to the crisis of shortages, inflation and lack of freedoms, various international organizations have reported a massacre of demonstrators in numbers that, although estimated, are in the tens of thousands. Although the Iranian authorities have admitted more than 3,000 deaths in the protests, human rights experts and NGOs point out that the figures could even be between three and ten times more.

In this context, to which was added the execution of the young fighter Saleh Mohammadi, several Olympic athletes spoke out condemning the Iranian regime, according to different testimonies gathered by Fox News Digital.

"As someone who has traveled to Iran for wrestling twice and welcomed Iranian athletes into our country, I’ve seen firsthand the dignity and heart of the Iranian people. That’s why it’s so heartbreaking to witness a terror regime execute a teenage wrestler. My prayers are with Saleh Mohammadi’s family and all who are suffering. In the face of such oppression, I hold to the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only light that overcomes darkness and only truth that proclaims justice and mercy will one day prevail," said Brandon Slay, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling at Sydney 2000.

Tyler Clary, U.S. swimmer and gold medalist at London 2012, spoke of the importance of strong American leadership in opposing such a regime: "As an Olympic gold medalist, I’ve spent my life around athletes who represent the very best of human discipline and freedom. What we’re seeing in Iran — the execution of a wrestler after what appears to be a sham process — is a brutal reminder of what that regime stands for. This is exactly why strong leadership matters. President Trump has been clear-eyed about the nature of this regime and the need to stand up to it, and moments like this prove why that approach is necessary."

Other athletes agreed.

Eli Bremer, U.S. modern pentathlete (Beijing 2008), said, "I’m beyond disgusted by the actions of the Iranian regime today. Murdering a teenaged iconic athlete shows how deeply depraved the Iranian leadership is. President Trump has and continues to do the right thing to ensure this regime is destroyed. A regime that is willing to murder a teenaged athlete is a regime that would be willing to murder Americans if given the chance."

Likewise, former Iranian youth wrestling champion Sardar Pashaei warned that other fellow athletes could run to end up like young Mohammadi.

"This is only a glimpse of the regime’s brutality. A regime that kills its own people and now publicly executes a teenage athlete. For nearly 50 years, some politicians have tried to moderate this regime. They still don’t understand it. We do. We have lived under it. We carry its scars. Iranian sport is no longer in the hands of athletes. It is controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, the same forces that suppress women, intimidate athletes abroad and threaten their families. Others are still at risk, and there is still time to save them. The world must act now. Saleh’s only ‘crime’ was protest. He went to the streets for freedom, for a future where protest is not a crime, where executions do not exist and where people are not held hostage by their own government."