Iran will not participate in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics owing to serious safety risks to its sole athlete amid the escalating war between Iran and the Israel-United States alliance, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Saturday.
The decision was communicated just hours before the opening ceremony in Verona.
IPC stated that Aboulfazl Khatibi would not compete due to concerns over travel and personal safety in Italy.
The Games begin less than a week after the United States and Israel launched a large-scale military campaign against Iran, which has since expanded into a broader regional conflict.
IPC explained that “due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Paralympians cannot travel safely to Italy.”
IPC President Andrew Parsons reiterated that the committee had been working behind the scenes with the Iranian National Paralympic Committee “to find some solution and alternative for the safe passage of the Iran delegation to the Games.”
However, he added, “We understand that the ongoing war in the region poses risks to the life of the delegation.”
Iranian authorities and the National Paralympic Committee confirmed that the 23-year-old skier, who has competed in the last two Winter Paralympic Games, was scheduled to take part but will not do so owing to the war and the specific threats faced by him and his support staff.
