TEHRAN-(AFP) – Iran on Wednesday confirmed it had received an approach from its arch enemy the United States to forge ties in sport but cautioned that its government must decide how to respond.
The top Iranian Olympic official said that the United States was looking to put in place programmes for exchanges of coaches, knowledge and athletes, especially in Iran’s most successful sports like wrestling and weightlifting.
"We have not given any response to the US request of establishing sports ties and in this regard we follow the policies of the government," said Ali Kafashin, the secretary general of the Iranian Olympic Committee, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
Confirming reports in British and American media, he said that US sport officials had written twice to Iran and also approached Iranian officials during last year’s Asian Games in Qatar.
"We have not given them our reply yet. Any decision in this regard has to be taken by the (Iranian state) physical education organisation and our politicians" he said.
"The Americans want to have sporting relations between the two nations, exchange of coaches, and technical know-how," he explained.
The two foes have had no diplomatic relations since Washington cut ties in 1980 over the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran by radical students, and relations remained hugely strained by the controversy over the Iranian nuclear drive.
However this has not stopped small groups of US athletes visiting Iran for occasional international competitions, most recently in fencing, weightlifting and wrestling.
Kafashin emphasised that the move was solely aimed at sports ties and anything further "has to be investigated by our politicians".
"We do not get involved in politics. We only look at this from a sports perspective and surely establishing these kind of ties will not have a negative impact on us."
