Iran today banned US wrestlers from participating in the Freestyle World Cup competition slated from 16th of this month in the western city of Kermanshah. <br/><br/>This was reported by the Iranian official news agency IRNA, quoting foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi. The news agency said the action was in response to President Donald Trump's executive order forbidding visas for Iran, among seven Muslim countries. Earlier this week, Iran had said it would take retaliatory action.<br/><br/>Wrestling is extremely popular in Iran. The Freestyle World Cup held in Iran is one of the most prestigious competitions in all of international wrestling. After a gap of nearly 20 years, US freestyle wrestlers have been competing in the event since the 1998 Takhti Cup. <br/><br/>Americans have attended Iran-hosted wrestling competitions 15 times while Iranians made 16 return visits to the USA as guest of US Wrestling since the 1990s.