Alizadeh began her lengthy goodbye message addressing the \"oppressed\" and \"noble people of Iran,\" adding later that the medal she earned is simply a tool used for \"political exploitation.\"
\"...but at the same time to humiliate, they say: The virtue of a woman is not to stretch her legs!\" Alizadeh wrote.
Other Iranian athletes have left the country in recent years due to government pressure, The Associated Press reported.
Alizadeh wrote that no one invited her to Europe, adding that the decision to leave Iran was \"even harder\" than winning Olympic gold. She has \"no other wish\" other than to continue practicing Taekwondo and to live a \"happy and healthy life,\" she said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/Alizadeh-2-gty-er-200112_hpEmbed_3x2_384.jpg\")
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: Iran's Kimia Alizadeh Zenoorin competes against Spain's Eva Calvo Gomez during the women's taekwondo quarter-final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Aug. 18, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Alizadeh's defection comes during high tensions between the U.S. and Iran following the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iran admitting to \"unintentionally\" shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people on board.
U.S. Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus wrote on Twitter that Iran \"will continue to lose more strong women unless it learns to empower and support them.\"
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