Nearly half of the athletes selected for the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team hail from Iran, as announced by the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the unveiling of the team lineup for the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Out of the 36 athletes from 11 countries selected, 14—or almost 40%—are Iranian.

The considerable presence of Iranian refugees on the team follows a surge in the emigration of athletes, artists, and skilled workers from Iran, driven by ongoing anti-regime protests and increasing economic and political pressures over the past few years.

The 14 Iranian athletes, comprising 10 men and 4 women, have found new bases across Europe, including notable names such as Omid Ahmadisafa (Germany) in boxing, Matin Balsini (Britain) in swimming, and Mahboubeh Barbari Zharfi (Germany) in judo.

The mass defections come in the wake of at least 30 Iranian athletes seeking asylum in recent years, escaping not only the political repression in Iran, but also specific challenges within the sports sector.

Issues cited by athletes include corruption within sports federations, the enforced policy of not competing against Israeli athletes, and for women, the mandatory wearing of the hijab during competition.

The Islamic Republic’s policy of prohibiting its Olympic athletes from competing against Israelis stems from its longstanding enmity towards the country, after 1979.

Athletes are often pressured by the government-controlled sports federation officials to intentionally lose matches, forfeit, or cite injuries to avoid competitions against Israeli opponents.