Despite a statement from the head of the Iranian Olympic committee asserting that Iranian athletes can compete against Israelis in the London Olympic Games, it is unlikely to occur.

Bahram Afsharzadeh, head of the Iranian Olympic Mission, said Monday that his athletes will compete against Israeli athletes in the games that start this week.

But on Sunday, the Iranian team left for London without Judo champion Javad Mahjoob, the only Iranian athlete who had a possibility to compete against an Israeli, the Washington Post reported.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Iranian officials are quoted as saying that Mahjoob is suffering from a “critical digestive system infection” and will not be able to travel to the Games.

Others are skeptical that Mahjoob is ailing and believe it is more likely that it is an excuse to keep him from facing off against Ariel “Arik” Ze’evi in the 100-kilogram weight class.

Iranian athletes withdrew from events against Israelis at the 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games.

The official Iranian government Fars news agency said that the Olympic chairman’s words were taken out of context since he said Iranian athletes would compete against all athletes and did not name Israel specifically.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount