MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2019) The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it had lodged a protest to the United States over the fact that the Iranian national volleyball team was held for four hours at the airport of Chicago.
The Iranian national team had arrived in Chicago to participate in the final round of the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League, scheduled to take place from July 10-14.
"The Iranian Foreign Ministry has expressed protest at the US' move to keep Iran's volleyball players at the Chicago Airport for hours upon their arrival in the country," the statement said.
The protest was submitted by the director of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Department for the Americas, Mohsen Baharvand, to Swiss Ambassador in Tehran Markus Leitner, as Switzerland acts as a diplomatic messenger between the United States and Iran.
"If the US cannot host all athletic teams in a fair and even-handed way, it had better refrain from playing host to athletic competitions," Baharvand said as quoted in the statement.
The incident occurred amid the escalation of tensions in the US-Iranian relations over the US decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal, and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Earlier on Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran was enriching uranium beyond the 3.67 percent limit outlined in JCPOA.
