Iranian climbing champion Elnaz Rekabi has arrived back in Tehran after sparking a controversy by "inadvertently" competing in the Asian Championships in Seoul without a head scarf.
Rekabi and the rest of the Iranian team arrived in the capital on October 19, according to the official Tasnim news agency and several posts on social media.
As the team arrived, hundreds of people, including women not wearing the hijab, gathered outside the airport cheering for "Elnaz the champion."
Rekabi, who wore a black baseball cap and a black hoodie covering her hair, told Iranian state television in an interview that going without a hijab while competing had been an unintentional act on her part.
She explained that she was in a women-only waiting area prior to her climb.
"Because I was busy putting on my shoes and my gear, it caused me to forget to put on my hijab and then I went to compete," she said.
Rekabi's supporters have expressed concerns about her safety after her return amid unrest over the death of a young woman last month while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.
Her decision not to wear the head scarf in Seoul was seen by some observers as a move to show solidarity with ongoing antigovernment protests.
In a post that appeared on her Instagram page on October 18, she apologized and explained that "due to poor scheduling and an unexpected call for me to climb.... I inadvertently had a problem with my cover."
It could not be verified whether Rekabi made the post independent of pressure from Iranian officials, and some government critics said the apology appeared in line with previous similar confessions by offenders who were pressured by authorities to recant. There were also unconfirmed reports that Rekabi's brother had been detained by police.
The United States criticized the Iranian government's treatment of Rekabi.
"The Iranian regime and its leaders have a long history of abusing the rights of women and violating their freedom of expression, including through threats, through intimidation and violence," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters at a briefing.
"Reports of intimidation and threats to Elnaz Rekabi appear to be the latest inexcusable example of such tactics. The world and the Iranian people will be watching how she is treated," he said.
The month of unrest across Iran -- one of the deepest challenges to the Islamic regime since the revolution in 1979 -- was sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was taken into police custody for allegedly breaking hijab rules.
Since the start of the protests, several Iranian sports champions and prominent public figures, including soccer star Ali Daei, have been summoned or arrested by the authorities and had their passports confiscated after showing support for anti-government protests.
The hijab -- the head covering worn by Muslim women -- became compulsory in public for Iranian women and girls over the age of 9 after the 1979 revolution.