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Iran banned a weightlifter for life after he took a photo with an Israeli opponent
(JTA) — Iran’s weightlifting federation banned one of its athletes for life after he shook hands and posed for a photo with an Israeli athlete at an international competition in Poland.
Mostafa Rajaei finished second in his category at the 2023 World Master Weightlifting Championships on Saturday. Rajaei, standing on the podium wrapped in an Iranian flag, shook hands and took a picture with Israeli Maksim Svirsky, who finished third.
“The weightlifting federation bans athlete Mostafa Rajaei for life from entering all sports facilities in the country and dismisses the head of the delegation for the competition, Hamid Salehinia,” Iran’s weightlifting federation said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse.
Iran, whose leaders regularly call for violence against Israel, forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis, including at the Olympics. Iranian athletes have previously forfeited or cited medical complications in efforts to avoid facing against Israeli athletes.
Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei has been banned for life by the mullah terror entity . Why? Because he shook hands with Israeli weightlifter Maksim Svirsky at sports competition in Poland. pic.twitter.com/mQmFRbunrg
— Avi Kaner ابراهيم אבי (@AviKaner) August 30, 2023
“In addition to apologising to the leader of the revolution, the families of martyrs and all the people of Iran, I promise we will certainly never witness incidents like this in the weightlifting family,” federation head Sajad Anoushiravani said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera.
In 2019, the International Judo Federation banned Iran from all international competitions in the sport over its policy toward Israeli athletes. But after an appeal, the ban was reduced to four years and is set to expire next month.
The punishment stemmed from the treatment of Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who said he was ordered to throw matches to avoid facing Israeli Sagi Muki at the World Judo Championships in 2019. Muki ultimately won the tournament, and Mollaei stopped competing for Iran. (Mollaei visited Israel in 2021 for a judo competition, where he competed under the Mongolian flag.)
In 2018, the head of Iran’s wrestling federation resigned over the country’s policy of forcing its athletes to forfeit matches against Israeli opponents. In 2010, the head of foreign relations for the Iran’s soccer federation resigned after his office accidentally included Israel in its New Year’s greeting cards.
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
The post Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
The post Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
The post Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors first appeared on Algemeiner.com.