I'm an Iranian wrestling champion — the IOC must start defending persecuted athletes

Another Iranian wrestler was executed — and once again, the IOC responded with the same words.

Whenever the International Olympic Committee speaks about the catastrophic human rights situation facing athletes, it repeats the same line: we cannot change the laws of countries.

But Iranian athletes have never asked you to change Iran’s laws.

They asked you to act based on your own rules — and that if a member of the Olympic movement violates those rules, you take action.

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When you speak about "verifying" the execution of an athlete, it is deeply troubling. You risk giving space to the narrative of a regime that executes a 19-year-old wrestler.

Iranian athletes did not ask you to investigate every case or verify every victim. They asked something much simpler: if you cannot fulfill your duties and enforce your own rules, then say it clearly and publicly.

Carefully chosen words and cautious statements do not protect athletes’ lives.

Our questions are simple:

Does depriving more than 45 million women in Iran of access to many sports violate your principle of gender equality — yes or no?

Does forcing Iranian athletes, for nearly half a century, to refuse competition against Israeli opponents violate your rules — yes or no?

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Do arrest, torture, execution, and silencing athletes violate the Olympic Charter — yes or no?

The head of Iran’s National Olympic Committee is not an independent sports official. He is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a U.S.-designated terrorist organization — and is a former bodyguard of the Supreme Leader.

When those overseeing athletes are connected to the same system that represses them, how can the Olympic Charter be upheld?

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How many more athletes must be executed, and how many more must be killed, before your conscience is moved?

I speak as an athlete and national team coach who was banned from competition and even from entering a wrestling hall. My younger brother, Saman, also a national team wrestler, was arrested, tortured, and left with a brain injury.

As a child, I believed the IOC was the home of athletes — a place where we learn humanity and sportsmanship.

But over time, I came to see something different:

A place where relationships with governments are protected — even when athletes are not.

Let us be honest. Appointing a few Iranian athletes, offering symbolic positions, or placing some in refugee teams does not replace responsibility.

We are realistic. The IOC’s mission is not to change governments.

But for Iranian athletes, its role has become something else: welcoming officials, overlooking clear violations, and remaining silent in the face of injustice.

In the loss of our opportunities and the destruction of our dreams by the Islamic regime, your silence has had consequences.

In the imprisonment and killing of athletes, your silence has had consequences.

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You spoke of "quiet diplomacy."

Since the execution of Navid Afkari in 2020, athletes in Iran have been imprisoned, tortured, killed in the streets, or executed.

Your quiet diplomacy has not protected them.

It has given the regime space to continue — without fear of consequences and without accountability.

You were once athletes. You knew what it meant to stand for something.

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Today, you speak like politicians — and stay silent when it matters most.

And for athletes like Saleh Mohammadi, that silence comes too late.