Ayatollah Khamenei Denounces Politicized Sport

His Eminence further that the flawed policies were starkly evident during the recently concluded 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in the French capital Paris.

Imam Khamenei made the remarks on Tuesday in a meeting with a group of Iranian medalists, athletes, coaches and organizers of Iranian sports delegations to the international multi-sport events.

The Leader argued that certain countries banned a country because it had waged a war against another country, but they “refused to ban the Zionist entity from the Games despite the fact that it has killed thousands of children and massacred over 41,000 people in nearly a year,” lambasting such double standards as heavily biased.

 “This is what we have long been saying. Some people tend to refer to our words as exaggeration. It is no exaggeration. They assert that sports should not be politicized. This is while they take and exhibit the most politicized actions in the field of sports,” the Leader noted.

Iran ranked first among West Asian countries in terms of the total number of medals at the Paris Olympics and was recognized as the best-performing country in terms of medals per athlete.

Iran’s total of 12 medals included 3 golds, 6 silvers, and 3 bronzes.

In Paris Paralympics, Iran finished in 14th place with a total of 25 medals, including 8 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze.