Iran's NOC President Reza Salehi Amiri will not stand for re-election ©Getty Images

Reza Salehi Amiri is set to step down as President of the Iranian National Olympic Committee (NOC) after four years in the position.

Salehi Amiri was elected to his current post in January 2018 as a replacement for Kioomars Hashem.

"According to the regulations, I can participate in the Presidential elections but I’d rather quit my job in the committee," said Salehi Amiri, as reported by the Tehran Times.

"I did my best during my career and the people in future will judge me.

"We founded the National Sports Museum of Iran which is among top museums in the world.

"One of the functions of sport as part of public diplomacy is to spread peace and friendship among nations and we worked according to sports diplomacy in the four-year period."

Salehi Amiri’s term of office proved politically turbulent, most notably after the execution in September 2020 of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari.

This led to calls from some athlete representation groups - including the Iran-based #UnitedforNavid campaigners - for Iran to be excluded from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and from world sport in general, although these were not taken up.

The Iran NOC was reported to have interceded, unsuccessfully, on Afkari’s behalf.

Afkari was executed on September 12, having been given two death sentences for allegedly stabbing a security guard to death and his involvement in demonstrations against the country's regime in 2018.

Controversy over Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who was warned by a home Government official not to risk meeting an Israeli opponent at the World Judo Championships, has been one of the controversial issues during Reza Salehi Amiri's four-year tenure as Iran's NOC President ©Getty Images
Controversy over Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who was warned by a home Government official not to risk meeting an Israeli opponent at the World Judo Championships, has been one of the controversial issues during Reza Salehi Amiri's four-year tenure as Iran's NOC President ©Getty Images

The wrestler had claimed he was tortured into making a false confession and human-rights groups and activists believe he was unjustly targeted by the Iranian authorities to intimidate others who might choose to participate in peaceful protests.

The United States subsequently announced sanctions against Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, Judge Mohammad Soltani, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, plus Adel Abad, Orumiyeh, and Vakilabad Prisons.

In May 2021 an audio file was published purportedly of Iran Judo Federation President Arash Miresmaeili instructing the coach of Saeid Mollaei to inform the judoka to lose a contest to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.

The audio was reportedly acquired by Iran International television and was shared by the United for Navid campaign.

The clip sees Miresmaeili allegedly tell Mollaei’s coach Majid Zareian that the athlete had to lose a contest to avoid potentially facing an Israeli rival in the next round.

Iran's actions led the International Judo Federation to ban Iran from competition indefinitely - or until "the Iran Judo Federation give strong guarantees and prove that they will respect the International Judo Federation Statutes and accept that their athletes fight against Israeli athletes."

Mollaei was granted asylum in Germany on November 1, 2019 and later that month competed as part of the IJF refugee team at the Osaka Grand Slam before taking up Mongolian citizenship to further pursue his career.