Iranian weightlifter banned from sport after shaking Israeli's hand

From J Post.com (Aug. 31, 2023):

Iranian weightlifter Mustafa Rajaei was banned from participating in any sports event after he shook the hand of his Israeli competitor, Maksim Svirsky, at a World Masters championship in Poland, Iran's Weightlifting Federation announced on Wednesday.

Iranian weightlifter banned for life after taking a photo with an Israeli athlete. Despite such repercussions, this is the message Iranian athletes wish to convey to the world: the totalitarian Islamic regime and its policies of hatred do not represent us, the people of Iran.… pic.twitter.com/jOWH0z1KJ7

— Masih Alinejad ️ (@AlinejadMasih) August 30, 2023

"The Weightlifting Federation strongly condemns the action of the veteran weightlifter of the Iranian team during the World Veteran Championship, which is against the ideals of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said the Federation.

The Federation additionally dissolved the committee for veteran weightlifters and dismissed Hamid Salehinia, the head of the Iranian delegation to the competition in Poland. "After further investigations, serious and decisive action will be taken against all the wrongdoers."

"Undoubtedly, the fight against the usurping Zionist regime and its supporters is one of the main pillars of the strategic policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in this regard, the Weightlifting Federation fully follows the ideals of Imam Rahel and the guidelines of the Supreme Leader of the [Islamic] Revolution who do not recognize the illegitimate regime of Israel, and it has placed it as an inviolable principle of the system to promote the fighting and Islamic spirit against the Zionists."

A video shared by Iranian media showed Rajaei and Svirsky taking a photo together and shaking hands after getting off the podium at the competition. [read more]

Terrible. I'm sure representative Ilhan Omar couldn't agree more with Iran's decision.