Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has criticized the United States for its handling of recent anti-Israeli demonstrations, despite his own security forces killing thousands over the past five years.
“Iran condemns the reception and protection of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris, demanding their exclusion over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Announcing the reception and protection of the apartheid terrorist Zionist regime’s delegation means giving legitimacy to the child killers,” Iran’s foreign ministry stated in a post on X on Tuesday.
The foreign ministry statement said Israel does "not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza,” calling on organizers to ban Iran's archenemy.
On Thursday, Israel's foreign minister warned his French counterpart of a potential Iranian-backed plot to target Israeli athletes and tourists during the Paris Olympic Games.
"We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organisations who aim to carry out attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics," Israel Katz told Stephane Sejourne.
Katz did not detail any specific intelligence or threat against the Games.
On July 26, the flags of 206 countries will be paraded by athletes at the opening ceremony in the Stade de France, including Iran. The Refugee Team, bearing the flag of the International Olympic Committee, will be represented by 14 Iranians who have fled the country. The team has 37 athletes from 11 countries. They will represent sports such as taekwondo, canoe slalom, badminton and wrestling.
The numbers of athletes fleeing Iran have continued to spiral since the 2022 Women, Life, Freedom uprising and after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody with athletes publicly taking the stage to oppose the government's oppression. Men and women from a range of sports have sought a life in exile, meaning competing under other flags.
Badminton player Dorsa Yavarifar, one of the youngest athletes on the Refugee Team, left Iran in 2018, just 15 at the time. Along with her mother, they left Tehran for Turkey using fake German passports.
She told Reuters she had been consistently rejected by the national badminton team without any given reason.
Shirin Shirzad, the former caretaker of Iran’s Women National Wrestling Team, told Iran International: “More than any other ministry in Iran, we witness mismanagement in the Sports Ministry, and that’s why many Iranian athletes whose big wish is to win medals in the Olympics or world competitions are leaving the country in clusters."
She said the federations lack experienced managers to help cultivate talent on the global stage. "An athlete sacrifices all his or her life to win a medal and when they see their efforts do not result in any advancement in personal life, they are forced to choose a better place to live," she added.
"I was really scared because I didn't know what was going to happen to me," said Yavarifar, who recently turned 21.
"I didn't know where I was going. My mum just said we were going to go to another country, but she never told me how or where," she noted. "It was all worth it. Now, that I think back about it—all that suffering is over, so I'm really happy now."
She is studying sports and exercise science at Middlesex University in London and trains three times a week at the Sankey Academy, an independent badminton club in Milton Keynes.
Saeedeh Fat’hi, an Iranian journalist, also told Iran International that sport is not a priority for Iranian officials who "want to misuse the achievements of the athletes to export the ideology of the Islamic Republic to other countries".
"When the Supreme Leader expresses gratitude to the woman who bore the flag of Iran wearing Hijab or the one who refused to shake hands with men in competitions, it shows how the Iranian government’s view of sports is,” she stressed.
Among the other Iranian athletes on the Refugee Team are Omid Ahmadi-Safa, a boxer who sought asylum in Germany and will compete in the 51 kg boxing category. Amir Rezanejad and Saeed Fazlouli, both refugees in Germany, along with Saman Soltani, a refugee in Austria, will represent Iranian rowing at the Paris Olympics.
Additionally, Mohammad Rashnonejad, a refugee in the Netherlands, and Mahboubeh Barbari Zharfi, a refugee in Germany, are the two Iranian judo athletes on the judo squad.
The Iranian national taekwondo team has four representatives in the Olympics, while the refugee taekwondo team includes three Iranians, making it likely they may come up against former team mates.
The wave of defections follows at least 30 Iranian athletes seeking asylum in recent years, escaping not only political repression in Iran but also specific challenges within the sports sector.
Athletes have cited issues such as corruption within sports federations, the enforced policy of not competing against Israeli athletes, and for women, the mandatory wearing of the hijab during competitions.
The Islamic Republic’s prohibition against its Olympic athletes competing against Israelis originates from its longstanding enmity toward the country since 1979.
Athletes are often pressured by government-controlled sports federation officials to intentionally lose matches or forfeit. Others, like judoka Leila Hosseini, have been told to cite injuries to avoid competing against Israeli opponents. For Hosseini, it cost her a gold medal in Tbilisi.
This year marks the third appearance of the refugee team in the Olympic Games, which began with a small team of 10 athletes in the 2016 Rio Olympics, growing to 29 in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and now reaching 37 athletes in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
War-torn Syria and Afghanistan each have five athletes, sharing the second place after Iran. This means that each of these two countries, whose people are under the pressure of the Taliban and Bashar al-Assad, have about one-third of Iran's share in the Refugee Team. While Iran condemns the inclusion of Israeli athletes, it remains silent on the plight of its own refugees.
Prominent theater and cinema actor Reza Kianian was among the most vocal to chime in critically on Pezeshkian's dress code.
“I’d like to request you to wear a light summer suit jacket instead of that casual jacket,” Kianian said in an Instagram post addressed to the President on Sunday.
Since then, domestic Iranian news websites and social media users have extensively shared and republished the post.
Referring to former populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kianian remarked that Iranians do not have “good memories” of the casual zip-up jacket (Kapshan in Persian) often associated with Ahmadinejad.
The jacket, which was a way to visually symbolize his anti-Western and anti-Israeli stance, remains a lasting image in many Iranians' minds.
“You must visit New York in a few months [to attend the UN General Assembly meeting]. What you wear is very important,” Kianian told Pezeshkian in his post, offered advice on clothing, socks, and shoes, and even recommended “a proper haircut”. “Let Iran be pictured befittingly [by foreign media at the event].”
Among the over 5,000 Instagram users who commented on Kianian’s post, many dismissively stated that Pezeshkian's style was inconsequential, arguing that more pressing issues deserved his attention.
Others agreed with Kianian, asserting that the new president should adhere to international dress protocols, at least while representing the country on the global stage.
Some of Pezeshkian's supporters on social media have argued that focusing on his attire at the UNGA meeting is irrelevant. They point out that Arab leaders, as well as Indians, Malaysians, and others, often wear traditional robes and flip-flops at such events. They contend that what truly matters is what Pezeshkian has to offer the world.
Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and lawmaker who was relatively unknown to many Iranians before the snap elections following former President Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash in May, has occasionally mentioned that he finds it challenging to adhere to the strict protocols required of the president. He has also expressed that he would like to continue living like an "ordinary Iranian" and to be true to himself.
Social media posts and media articles dating back to August 2016, when Pezeshkian was the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, criticized his disregard for diplomatic dress codes and norms during the inauguration ceremony of President Hassan Rouhani, particularly in how he welcomed foreign delegations.
“Not observing official protocols, sneaking into Parliament unannounced [on Saturday], shopping at your local grocery store, and wearing a jacket in the middle of the summer is not a sign of being a man of the people and a revolutionary. It is a sign that you are another version of Ahmadinejad,” another critic posted on X.
Ahmadinejad, whose supporters took his badly worn zip-up jackets and windbreakers as a sign that he was “a man of the people,” began wearing formal suits regularly after a few years.
In recent years, the former President has undergone several superficial changes alongside his supposed shifts in worldview. Ahmadinejad has reportedly undergone cosmetic procedures to reduce the deep wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, aiming to project a new image that appeals to fashion-conscious middle-class Iranians.
Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, wearing ties became a symbol of Western cultural adherence, which young revolutionaries like Pezeshkian strongly denounced as 'un-Islamic.' Consequently, an unofficial ban was imposed on selling and wearing ties.
Subsequently, wearing a tie became a subliminal statement of opposition to the clerical regime among professional Iranians, including doctors, lawyers, and wealthy businessmen.
The male revolutionaries also disapproved of wearing collared shirts. In response, the Iranian foreign ministry designed collarless shirts for its diplomats, resembling the garments clerics wear under their robes.
Some diplomats, such as former Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, style these mandatory collarless shirts with expensive cufflinks.
Fashion awareness appears to be important among clerics, too.
The former "reformist" President Mohammad Khatami, frequently dubbed “the man in the chocolate-brown robe” by Iranian media for one of his robes, was often praised for his “impeccable style.” The "moderate" former President Hassan Rouhani was known for wearing robes reportedly made from expensive Italian fabrics.
On Thursday, Khamenei accused the US government and police of trampling on students "right in front of the people, cameras, and the world's media."
In recent months, the US has witnessed a surge of protests against Israel, particularly in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza. These demonstrations, often led by students, have been praised by Iranian officials as proof that their political ideology is taking root in Western countries.
"What they [the US] wanted to do in Iran has now happened to them,” Khamenei added, referring to his conspiracy theory that protests in Iran were an American plot.
Several rounds of widespread anti-regime protests shook Iran in 2017, 2019 and 2022. More than 2,000 protesters were killed by security forces and around 30,000 arrested. Iran has also hanged hanged dozens of dissidents and political prisoners in the past decade.
Khamenei took credit for protests in the United States, saying these are "blessings" brought on by Iran's Islamic revolution and its founder ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The protests are "unprecedented phenomenon in contemporary history," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the protesters as "Iran's useful idiots." In a speech to the US Congress on July 24, Netanyahu stated, "I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots."
gathered in Washington DC on Wednesday, to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They attacked monuments and burned American flags chanting praise for Hamas and threats against Jews.
Netanyahu's comments come amid a backdrop of intense conflict in Gaza. Since the war began, following the Hamas attack on Israel, leftist and pro-Palestinian students mobilized across US campuses to oppose Israel’s actions. The Hamas invasion of October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 mostly civilians, triggered a harsh retaliation from Israel. According to Hamas, over 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed. However, Israel continues its campaign to eliminate Hamas and rescue the remaining 125 hostages in Gaza. Throughout the conflict, the US has defended Israel's right to self-defense.
Khamenei, who has spent 35 years of his authoritarian rule campaigning against Israel and the West, is leveraging these protests to bolster his anti-Western narrative. By showcasing anti-Israeli and anti-Western sentiment abroad, Khamenei aims to justify his government’s actions and ideology both at home and on the international stage.
