NOC President & Secretary-General Meet IWF President

Iran NOC; Tehran: In this meeting, Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa, President, Dr. Mahdi Alinejad, Secretary General, Alireza Pakdel, member of the executive board and Iranian Chef de Mission to the Youth Asian Games in Bahrain, Sajjad Anoushirvani, President, Hossein Rezazadeh, Acting Vice President, Vahid Rabiei, Secretary General of the Weightlifting Federation, along with Mohammad Jalood, President of the International Federation, and Ibrahim Eshaq, President of the Bahrain Weightlifting Federation, were present.

At the beginning of this meeting; Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa, while welcoming the President and Vice President of the World Weightlifting Federation, stated: “We are honored to host you and are very pleased with your presence at this sensitive occasion. It is an honor that the World Weightlifting Federation, whose medals are very valuable to us, is managed by a Muslim brother, and more importantly, that you have gained the necessary acceptance in all continents. I would like to thank you for your support for the National Weightlifting Federation of Iran. In the last meeting we had in Bahrain, at the same time as the World Championships, you had promised to support Iranian weightlifting, which was fulfilled with your kindness. Your support in obtaining quotas, conditions of attendance, weightlifting equipment, and most importantly, your wisdom in approving women's clothing was very valuable and commendable. Weightlifting in Iran is a very old discipline. Mohammad Nasiri won the first Olympic gold medal for Iran, which is valuable for both Iran and the world, and last week we celebrated the 80th birthday of this champion at the committee. Considering the proximity of the two events of the Asian Games Bahrain 2025 and the Islamic Countries Riyadh 2025, we, the great mission of the National Olympic Committee, in preparing these delegation, added: "Fortunately, we have very friendly relations with the country and people of Bahrain, to the extent that there is no feeling of alienation in this country, which makes our work easier for the Youth Games hosted by the friendly and neighboring country of Bahrain. I thank you for helping this federation in this evolution of Iranian weightlifting, and I hope that, given the experience, expertise, ability, and medal-winning history that exists in Iranian weightlifting, the World Federation and the Asian Confederation will make more use of these abilities and have broader cooperation."

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Then, Mohammad Jalood, the President of the World Weightlifting Federation, expressed his pleasure at being in Iran and meeting with the President and officials of the National Olympic Committee and stated: “I thank you (Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa) for being present at the World Weightlifting Championships in Bahrain. This shows the importance of this discipline for the officials and sports of Iran. Iran is a large and civilized country, and consequently, Iranian sports are also powerful, especially in Asia. Iran was the first country to help establish and develop Iraqi weightlifting. At that time, Salmasi created Iraqi weightlifting. We have very good relations that we are both grateful for and seek to maintain and develop”. Referring to legends such as Hossein Rezazadeh, who is well-known and loved not only in Iran but also in Iraq, and is a legend of strength and morality, the IWF President said: “Iran has always been a medalist and proud in the Olympic Games and Asian Games. We hope that it will have a successful presence in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with a scientific and ethical weightlifting approach (clean sport)”. Jalood expressed hope that Iran will be able to host competitions at the Asian level and above, and we will also have the necessary support in this regard. In any case, if any specific matter is raised by you, we are ready to cooperate and support. The President of the International Weightlifting Federation, while apologizing for the short nature of his trip (one day) in Iran, stated: All our upcoming trips will be one-day, and we will visit Saudi Arabia, India and Uzbekistan, but due to the importance and respect we have for Iran, we started from Iran.

Dr. Mahdi Alinejad, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee, while welcoming the IWF President highlighted: “Weightlifting is one of the most medal-winning and prestigious disciplines in Iran and has had great achievements”. The Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee thanked the President of the International Weightlifting Federation and held: “You turned threats into opportunities, Iranian weightlifting has the ability to be with you as working partners, and we hope that with your further support, Iran will have a greater and more effective role in Asia”.

In addition, the President of the International Weightlifting Federation visited the National Museum of Sports, Olympics and Paralympics of Iran before attending the meeting.