An Iranian weightlifter has been banned for life by the authorities of the Islamic Republic after shaking hands with an Israeli competitor at an event in Poland, as reported by official media.
“The weightlifting federation bans athlete Mostafa Rajaei for life from accessing all sports facilities in the country and dismisses the head of the delegation for the competition, Hamid Salehinia,” the organization announced in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
Mostafa Rajaei, in his forties, had shaken hands with Israeli weightlifter Maksim Svirsky on Saturday during the Masters World Championship in Wieliczka, Poland, as both athletes stood on the podium for the medal ceremony.
Iran does not recognize Israel, its arch-enemy, and forbids any contact between Iranian and Israeli athletes. According to IRNA, Rajaei “crossed the red lines of the Islamic Republic” at the event where the Iranian delegation had been “sent with the support of the federation.”
Rajaei is a former member of the Iranian national team and represented his country at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Thailand in 2015. In 2021, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged athletes “not to shake hands with a representative of the criminal regime (Israeli) to get a medal.”
