Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi returned safely to the country after concerns were raised following a competition in South Korea where she didn't wear the Islamic Republic's compulsory headscarf. She was greeted by cheers upon her arrival.

While some protesters thought Rekabi was making a political statement by not wearing her hijab, she said in an interview that was not the case.

“I was busy putting on my shoes and gear when I was called to compete and I forgot to put on the hijab I had with me,” Rekabi said speaking in Farsi. She had echoed a similar sentiment on her Instagram page about this not being intentional.

The controversy with Rekabi, who is 33 years old, comes at a time where the country has experienced a deadly response to anti-government protests. NBC News reported that “the circumstances under which the interview and the Instagram message were delivered remain unclear. NBC News could not independently verify if Rekabi wrote the message herself.”

Rekabi didn't wear a hijab during the International Federation of Sport Climbing's Asia Championship's final. Women athletes in Iran always wear the Islamic headscarf even in international competitions. Because it appeared Rekabi was making a gesture of solidarity with the protesters back home, social groups were worried when finding out she would be coming home to Iran following the competition in South Korea.

Director of the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights Mahood Amiry-Moghaddam emailed NBC News with a statement saying, “Based on our knowledge of the Islamic Republic, they will go very far to set an example for other athletes and young girls in general, so that this kind of disobedience doesn’t happen again.” Amiry-Moghaddam, like many of the protesters, is concerned the country forced Rekabi to release the statement following her return to Iran.