‘Just Awful’: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Laments Iran Regime’s Execution of 19-Year-Old Olympic Wrestler

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer mourned the execution of a 19-year-old Olympic wrestler and two others for protesting against the Iranian regime.

Blitzer detailed the case of Saleh Mohammadi during an interview with Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez (FL).

“We’re following news that Iran has executed three men, including a 19-year-old wrestler in connection with nationwide protests that took place in January,” Blitzer said Friday. Human rights groups described their trials as shams, and the hangings are thought to be the first carried out in public by Iran in relation to the protests President Trump had previously warned Iran against such hanging executions.”

Iran’s state media reported that Mohammadi, Saeed Davodi, and Mehdi Ghasemi were executed for murdering two policemen during the protests. According to Iran Human Rights, which strongly condemned the executions, the hangings were “carried out ‘in the presence of a group of people in Qom,'” adding, “The three protesters are the first to be hanged in relation to the December 2025/January 2026 nationwide protests.”

Blitzer asked Gimenez, “Do you think President Trump should take any direct action to punish Iran for these executions?”

“Yeah, I do think that the president has to do something about this especially since it’s so public,” Gimenez said. “I mean, we…think that the Iranian regime may have killed up to 50,000 people during those protests. People are simply asking for regime change, people simply asking for freedom. And that’s what this Iranian regime does. And that’s why it’s so dangerous.”

Blitzer interjected, “We have a picture of the 19-year-old Iranian Olympic wrestler, his name is Saleh Mohammadi. There he is over there, and it’s just so so sad that someone who simply protests a little bit gets executed in a public hanging by the Iranian regime. It’s just awful.”

Blitzer then asked Giminez if he planned to vote for the extra $200 billion requested by the Trump administration to fund the Iran war in the coming weeks.

“I got to see what the what the request is all about and how much you know, what it’s going to. But you know, I’m inclined to to, to vote for it because we have to finish this war off. I mean we have to finish this regime. Look what they just did.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!