Amid the two countries' shadow war, Iran’s Supreme Leader has once again reaffirmed his ban on competing against Israeli athletes, but offered incentives through compensation to ensure compliance.
In a Tuesday address to the country’s Olympic and Paralympic teams, Khamenei called on officials to compensate athletes who withdraw from matches against Israel, describing it as a "sacrifice" for national and religious ideals.
The directive is nothing new in Iran where athletes face pressure to forfeit matches against Israeli opponents, but with waning compliance, the country's supreme leader reiterated the country's hardline approach.
Some athletes are even going as far as shaking hands with Israeli competitors as cracks begin to show, a gesture that would have been unthinkable under Khamenei’s system.
Last year, Iran’s Weightlifting Federation (IRIWF) imposed a lifetime ban on Mostafa Rajaei after he shook hands with an Israeli athlete at the World Masters Championships in Kraków. Rajaei, who secured second place in his category and stood on the podium draped in the Iranian flag, greeted Israel's Maksim Svirsky, who finished third.
The two were photographed shaking hands and conversing, sparking outrage from the IRIWF and the Iranian government, which prohibits its athletes from engaging directly with Israelis. The IRIWF condemned Rajaei's actions as an "unforgivable" violation.
Iran’s hardline stance against Israel in sports has become a longstanding policy since 1979, with athletes pressured by government-controlled sports federations to either forfeit or intentionally lose matches. Those who comply are often rewarded handsomely. Some reports suggest that athletes who refuse to compete against Israel receive rewards equivalent to gold medalists.
"Our athlete refuses to compete or play against a Zionist opponent, and because of this, they pay a price. We must not neglect the well-being of this athlete," Khamenei said. The Iranian leader also emphasized that it is the government’s duty to address the livelihood and employment needs of the athletes, many of whom are under immense financial strain.
But as the Islamic Republic tries to uphold its anti-Israel stance, more athletes are fleeing the country to seek freedom. Since the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom uprising and the death of Mahsa Amini, the number of defecting athletes has skyrocketed.
The International Olympic Committee’s Refugee Team included 14 Iranian athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics, athletes who had fled Iran due to political repression and the forced policies within the sports sector.
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, left Iran and since competed under Mongolia’s flag, facing off against Israeli opponents regularly in global competitions.
This wave of defections has been fueled not only by the government’s anti-Israel policy but also by the corruption in Iran’s sports federations. Female athletes, in particular, face additional challenges due to the mandatory hijab, which has sparked international criticism.
Khamenei has also praised athletes who dedicate their victories to the Palestinian cause, such as those who have offered their medals to Ismail Haniyeh and taken photos with the Palestinian flag. He described these acts as "a display of spiritual strength and self-confidence of the Iranian nation" against its enemies. According to Khamenei, such gestures “carry a lot of meaning in the world."
In this week's address, Khamenei commended Iranian women athletes for wearing the hijab during international events, seeing this as a sign of their "national, religious, and Islamic identity."
He even went so far as to praise male athletes who refuse to shake hands with women during award ceremonies, calling it "meaningful" and a demonstration of "self-confidence."
Announced on Sunday by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, the move renders any senior official who has served in Iran's government since June 23 2003 inadmissible to the country. The extension builds on a previous ban introduced in November 2022, which had initially denied entry to officials dating back to 2019.
The significance of the new cutoff is symbolic, marking the arrest of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photojournalist detained by the Iranian government in Tehran.
After nearly three weeks of imprisonment, Kazemi died in hospital after being subjected to torture and sexual assault.
“We are sending a strong message that those involved in terrorism, human rights violations, and atrocities are not welcome here,” LeBlanc stated. “Canada will always stand up for human rights and fight for justice, at home and around the world.”
The announcement comes on the eve of the second anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, whose killing at the hands of Iran’s morality police triggered mass protests. She was arrested for the inappropriate wearing of her headscarf.
The expanded ban received praise from human rights advocates. Kourosh Doustshenas, a spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, commended the government's decision.
Flight PS752, shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in January 2020, killed 176 passengers, including 55 Canadian citizens. "Justice for Zahra Kazemi and so many others is long overdue," Doustshenas said in the wake of the news.
In June, following years of pressure from Iranian-Canadians and opposition parties, the Canadian government listed the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code. The IRGC, Iran's military arm, has long been implicated in human rights abuses, including the suppression of protests, crackdowns on dissidents, and interference in the Middle East.
Since Ottawa’s initial designation of the Iranian government as a violator of human rights in 2022, Canada has already revoked 82 visas and deemed 15 individuals inadmissible, including two senior officials who were ordered deported. The expanded measure will likely target many more, although the Canada Border Services Agency has yet to disclose how many additional officials will face repercussions.
The recent move follows incidents in which high-ranking Iranian figures, such as Morteza Talaei — the police chief during Zahra Kazemi's torture — were found living freely in Canada, sparking outrage among Canadians and human rights organizations.
With the latest decision, Canada continues to align itself with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and signal its dedication to human rights.
Over 550 protesters were killed by Iran's state security forces during the 2022 uprising which has posed the biggest threat to Iran's government since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
Thousands more Iranians have been arrested and hundreds more executed as the government struggles to quash dissent.