Topline
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi—who competed at an event in Korea without wearing the headscarf mandated for all Iranian female athletes—was cheered on by a large crowd of supporters upon her arrival at the Tehran airport on Wednesday, amid nationwide protests across Iran over the death of a 22-year-old woman at the hands of the country’s morality police.
Key Facts
Rekabi, who arrived at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport from Seoul, was greeted with applause and chants of “Elnaz is a heroine.”
The climber, who was wearing a black cap and a hoodie, was then hugged by her family and handed a bunch of flowers.
In an interview with Iranian State TV, Rekabi reiterated that her dressing choice was “unintentional” and her headscarf fell off “inadvertently” as