The Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reaffirmed this Saturday (September 18) his refusal to any contact between Iranian and Israeli athletes, during a speech to the Iranian medalists who participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy, does not recognize the Hebrew state and has made its support for the Palestinian cause a pillar of its foreign policy since the Islamic revolution of 1979. For years, Iranian sportsmen have taken steps to avoid confrontation with competing Israelis by being disqualified or providing medical certificates attesting to disability.
“The real Iranian athlete cannot shake hands with the representative of the criminal regime (Israeli) to get a medal“said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to an excerpt of his speech posted on his website.
Referring to sanctions by international sports bodies against Iranian athletes who refuse to face Israeli athletes, he invited “the Ministry of Sport and Foreign Affairs and also the judicial authority to use legal means to support the country’s athletes, as well as Muslim athletes from other countries, such as the Algerian athlete who was recently sanctioned.“
Ayatollah Khamenei was referring to the Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine, who withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics so as not to have to face an Israeli opponent. He was suspended the next day by the International Judo Federation and his accreditation was withdrawn.
In October 2019 at the Tokyo Worlds, the Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, world champion, successively lost in the semifinals, then in the fight for third place, finishing in fifth place. He then explained that he was pressured by the Iranian authorities in this regard, not to fight an Israeli in the final, in the case of Sagi Muki, finally a gold medalist. Party of Iran, Saeid Mollaei defends Mongolian colors.
As a result, the International Judo Federation (IJF) banned Iran from all competitions until the country “it provides strong assurances of its respect for the statutes of the world judo authority and that its members agree to fight the Israelis.“At the end of February 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), however, canceled the suspension”unlimited“inflicted on Iran.