Iran stands under the shadow of a further showering of US and Israel missiles as the clock of the war ticks on.
The thuds of successful hits send tremors through the ground, causing echoes within the currently empty buildings across the country – including sports halls and pitches – as innocent civilians run for safety.
Yet the physical bombs are not the only threat to Iranian athletes, as more than 80 competitors sit imprisoned for allegedly criticising Iran’s regime – as they take the places of those now executed.
This includes the still-warm seat of the teenage wrestler Saleh Mohammadi, who was publicly hanged mere days after his nineteenth birthday in March.
Mr Mohammadi was arrested after joining thousands of others in their protest in Tehran against the regime in January, sparked partly by soaring inflation and food prices.
At the same time, Sassan Azadvar Joonqani, a 21-year-old karate athlete, was also executed in April after joining the protests.
Their deaths funnel into figures of at least 21 people being executed and more than 4,000 detained under the Tehran regime since the start of the war, the UN Human Rights Office said last week.
While sport may be seen internationally as an outlet for national pride, Iran’s sport has become dangerously politicised as leaders of Iran’s regime – both old and new – clamp down on any adversity spoken, or presented, against them by the nation’s most talented.
Teenage wrestler Saleh Mohammadi (right) was publicly hanged mere days after his nineteenth birthday in March
The national-level teenage wrestler Mr Mohammadi (left) was executed alongside two other young men, Mehdi Ghasemi (middle) and Saeed Davoudi (right)
‘It is now too dangerous to become an athlete in Iran,’ the former athlete Zoreh Abdollahkhani tells the Daily Mail.
‘By killing Saleh, the champion of our country, they can teach every kid that if you go to a protest, you will be killed even though you are the champion of the world.
‘We are broken by his death.’
Ms Abdollahkhani, among many others, call for action from frontline organisations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – as they criticise the institutions for hypocrisy through their lack of action despite promoting human rights.
This includes claims they are not abiding by their own framework, which is founded on the uphold of human rights in sports.
In the IOC Code of Ethics, the IOC endorses the ‘respect for international conventions on protecting human rights’, including the ‘rejection of all forms of harassment and abuse’, as they ‘apply to the Olympic Games’ activities’.
The acknowledgement of human rights is an ask Iranian organisations claim has been repeatedly ignored since athletes started to become politically active, and subsequently detained, following the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ protests in 2022.
The nationwide demonstrations followed the death of Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran on January 9
Former athlete Zoreh Abdollahkhani calls for action from frontline organisations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – as she criticise s the institutions for hypocrisy through their lack of action despite promoting the human rights of sportspeople
The 22-year-old was arrested and killed for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly.
Her death sparked global outrage, with protests throughout international cities, and the march of thousands of people in Iran and consequential death toll of 551 people.
Among the protesting crowds were athletes, including footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison. His condition, after being hospitalised in 2025, and his whereabouts are unknown.
He was charged with ‘partaking in enmity against God’ for his role in the alleged murder of three members of the security forces and two other crimes committed during the protests.
Reports from Iran suggest the footballer confessed under coercion as his members of family were forced to stay silent – a practice that is commonly reported.
The numerous arrests of athletes prompted the creation of the charity Human Rights for Sports by Ms Abdollahkani.
Having represented Iran in the sport of ice climbing, Ms Abdollahkhani has since swapped her ice picks for spreadsheets and meticulous meetings as she runs the NGO – which campaigns for the detained athletes.
She saddles her work with the charity while studying her PHD in Sports safely in Norway. It is work that includes claims she has repeatedly approached sporting authorities, including the IOC, asking for protection for athletes. However says her pleas are met by silence.
Sassan Azadvar Joonqani, a 21-year-old karate athlete, was executed in April after joining the anti-regime protests in Tehran
The national-level teenage wrestler Mohammadi was executed alongside two other young men, Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi.
They were accused of killing two police officers during the nationwide anti-regime protests in January, despite there reportedly being little to no evidence supporting the prosecuting case.
Human rights groups claim the execution of all three men followed unfair trials, which included coerced ‘confessions’ gained under torture.
Mohammadi’s death has since intensified concerns over the future of other detained athletes, coaches and referees.
Those who remain behind iron bars include footballer Mohammad Hossein Hosseini, water polo goalkeeper Ali Pishevarzadeh, marathon runner Niloufar Pas, kickboxing champion Benjamin Naghdi, footballer Aboldfazl Dokht and boxer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.
The call for action to the IOC is shared by former Iranian champion wrestler and national wrestling team head coach Sardar Pashaei, who said athletes have never been exempt from the Islamic regime’s atrocities.
This included the execution of 27-year-old wrestler Naveed Afkari in 2020, who was accused of murdering a member of the regime’s security during protests in 2018.
He said one could not ‘believe how many times [they] contacted the International Olympic Committee – they have done nothing to protect him’.
The call for action to the IOC is shared by former Iranian champion wrestler and national wrestling team head coach Sardar Pashaei, who said athletes have never been exempt from the Islamic regime’s atrocities
27-year-old wrestler Naveed Afkari was executed in 2020, after he was accused of murdering a member of the regime’s security during protests in 2018
Mr Pashaei told The Jerusalem Post: ‘They always give you the response: “We can’t change the law,” but [the IOC] has tools to put pressure on the regime, and also we’re just asking this simple question: “When one of your member states violates your, why don’t they get punished?”‘
He described the regime’s choice to ‘arrest, torture and execute an athlete’, among other things, as a ‘clear violation of the [IOC] Charter’.
The Olympic Charter is the written code of the fundamental principles of Olympism, rules and bye-laws adopted by the IOC.
This includes a ‘respect for internationally recognised human rights’ and the ‘practice of sport’ being a human right, adding: ‘Every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognised human rights within the remit of the Olympic Movement.’
Notably, Iran has banned women from partaking in several sports, including aquatic competitions, such as swimming.
The current fear athletes shoulder of their own nation was brought to the fore when the Iranian women’s football squad travelled to Australia earlier this year to play for the Women’s Asian Cup.
Alarm bells rang internationally after team members reportedly made ‘SOS signals’ as they prepared to return to their country, while six players and one backroom staff member fled and sought asylum in Australia.
All but two players, 22-year-old Fatemeh Pasandideh and 34-year-old Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, have returned to Iran.
Alarm bells rang internationally after team members reportedly made ‘SOS signals’ as they prepared to return to their country, while six players and one backroom staff member fled and sought asylum in Australia
All but two players, 22-year-old Fatemeh Pasandideh (right) and 34-year-old Atefeh Ramezanisadeh (left), have returned to Iran
The regime has since banned its sports teams from travelling and competing in countries it deems ‘hostile’.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Sports said in March: ‘The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice.’
‘The whole reason for this is because they are scared about what happened in Australia will happen again,’ Ms Abdollahkhani believes.
‘I just tell myself that everything about sport in Iran is political.’
The ban adds an extra layer to pre-existing measures to control athletes while in other countries, including bodyguards.
‘They travel with you all the way. They take your passport so you cannot ask for asylum and you only get it back when you are in the airport going back home,’ Ms Abdollahkhani explains.
‘You don’t have access to you passport or ID card so they can ensure you wouldn’t leave the team. The security is always with you whenever you are competing or you want to go shopping.
‘You can never be alone, it is like full control.’
This control includes making sure female athletes keep their headscarves on: ‘If you didn’t have your headscarf, you couldn’t compete. Mandatory thing, its regulation.’
But the regulation of clothing is only the most visible layer of a much deeper system of control.
For years, sport has been used by governments as a projection of their strength and success – with the tallying of medals as a physical representation.
Yet in Iran, that same system seems inverted. The very individuals once celebrated as national heroes are increasingly treated as liabilities, particularly when they step beyond the narrow confines of state-approved expression.
The execution of a teenage wrestler and karate play, in addition to the imprisonment of dozens of competitors, suggests a structural shift in how sport is governed, rather as a mechanism of enforcement.
A broader question arises on what responsibility the global sporting community bears, especially as visibility, once a shield, brings athletes into greater threat.
A spokesperson for the IOC told the Daily Mail: ‘Sadly, today’s world is divided and full of conflicts and tragedies. The IOC cares deeply about the situation of athletes all around the globe and is concerned every time it learns of individual cases of mistreatment.
‘At this moment in time, we are particularly concerned about the situation of Iranian athletes impacted by the events unfolding in their country – as we are with all athletes who face conflict and tragedies elsewhere in the world.
‘Unfortunately, these situations are more regularly brought to our attention due to the increasingly divided world in which we live.
‘The IOC, as a civil, non-governmental organisation, has neither the remit nor the ability to change the laws or political system of a sovereign country. This is the legitimate role of governments and the respective intergovernmental organisations.
‘The IOC is a sports organisation whose remit and success is based on bringing the world together in peaceful competition. We have to be realistic about the IOC’s ability to directly influence global and national affairs.
‘At the same time, we will continue to work with our Olympic stakeholders to help where we can, often through quiet sports diplomacy. The IOC remains in touch with the Olympic community from Iran.’
