A female Iranian climber who competed with her open hair did so because her hijab "inadvertently" fell off, says a post on her Instagram account.
Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was praised by protesters after a video showing Iran's dress code being violated at the Asian Championships in South Korea.
BBC Persian reported on Monday that his friends were unable to contact him.
Before dawn on Wednesday morning, she left for Tehran, where a large crowd had gathered to greet her.
Videos on social media show many of them clapping and raising slogans of "Elnaaz is a heroine". Where the athlete is going now is unknown.
The post, which appeared on Instagram on Tuesday, apologized for "worrying everyone."
"Due to bad timing, and unexpected calls for me to climb the wall, I inadvertently covered my head," it explained.
The post said she was traveling back to Iran "with the team based on a pre-arranged schedule".
Rana Rahimpur of BBC Persian says that to many people the language used in this post feels as if it has been written under pressure.
She added that other Iranian women who have competed abroad without wearing headscarves in the past have said they had come under pressure from Iranian officials to issue a similar apology. Some of them decided not to go back to Iran.
Women in the country have to cover their hair with hijab and their hands and feet with loose clothing. Female athletes must also follow the dress code when officially representing Iran in competitions abroad.
Earlier, the Iranian embassy in South Korea said Ms Recabi had left for Iran from Seoul on Tuesday morning. It also strongly denied what it called "all fake news, lies and false information" about him.
The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) said it had been in contact with Ms Recabi and the Iranian Climbing Federation, and that it was "trying to establish the facts".
"It is important to emphasize that the safety of athletes is of paramount importance to us and we support any effort to keep an important member of our community safe in this situation," it added. "IFSC fully supports the rights of athletes, their freedom of choice and expression."
A source told BBC Persian on Monday that Rekaby's passport and mobile phone have been confiscated and she left her hotel in Seoul two days before her scheduled departure date. His family and friends lost contact with him after he was told that he was with an Iranian official.
Two years ago, an Iranian international chess referee said she had received death threats at the Women's World Chess Championships in Shanghai after a photo circulated that showed her without a hijab.
Shohre Bayat insisted that she was wearing a headscarf over her hair at the time, but she later stopped covering her hair and claimed asylum in Britain after she was warned that she would face arrest in Iran. may have to face.
Ms Bayat told BBC World News on Tuesday: "I had to choose my side because I was asked to apologize and publicly apologize on Instagram."
"I was given a list of things to do. I knew that if I just followed things I didn't believe in, if I apologized for not wearing a headscarf, I wouldn't forgive myself." could."
Asked what she thought of Elnaz Recabi's Instagram post, she said: "I think actions speak louder than words. And she made a very powerful statement in not wearing a headscarf."
Ms Bayat called on the international community to act on violent actions by Iranian authorities in response to nationwide protests against mandatory hijab laws and the clerical establishment.
The protests intensified after the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman arrested by ethics police in Tehran on 13 September for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loose.
Police denied reports that he had been beaten on the head with sticks and said he had suffered a heart attack.
On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office said it was deeply concerned by the "unabated violent response by security forces against the protesters, and reports of arbitrary arrests and killings and detentions of children".
Spokesperson Raveena Shamdasani said, "Some sources say 23 children have been killed and many others injured in at least seven provinces with ammunition, metal pellets and fatal beatings."
He said security forces raided several schools and arrested children, while some headmasters were arrested for not cooperating.
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