After being photographed shaking the hands of his Israeli competitor while competing at the World Masters Weightlifting Championship in Poland, Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei has found himself banned for life from the sport he loved because of the draconian Islamic theocracy’s policies towards the state of Israel.
According to the Iran Weightlifting Federation, Rajaei “crossed the red lines of the Islamic Republic” by acknowledging the existence of his Israeli counterpart. It is well known that the Iranian government does not respect the sovereignty of the state of Israel and has strict policies prohibiting any form of contact between their athletes.
Israeli businessman Avi Kaner posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, was one of many who found the government’s actions towards the weightlifter apprehensible.
“Iranian Mostafa Rajaei has been banned for life by the mullah terror entity,” he posted. “Why? Because he shook hands with Israeli weightlifter Maksim Svirsky at sports competition in Poland.”
Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei has been banned for life by the mullah terror entity š®š·. Why? Because he shook hands with Israeli š®š± weightlifter Maksim Svirsky at sports competition in Poland. pic.twitter.com/mQmFRbunrg
— Avi Kaner Ų§ŲØŲ±Ų§ŁŁŁ ××× (@AviKaner) August 30, 2023
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In addition to Rajei’s ban for basic sportsmanship, the head of the Iranian team, Hamid Salehinia, was also several punished by being terminated from his position. To add salt to the wound, the government also broke up the committee which oversaw veteran weightlifters, according to a recent article from the New York Post.
Rajaei had secured second place in the over-35 age group, 240 lb division, and set a world record with a 430 lbs clean and jerk.
Are you surprised Iran dropped the hammer on Rajaei? Let us know in the comments below and across social media.
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