Sawt Falasteen - Sole Iranian competitor out of Paralympics due to Middle East war

Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, 23, was due to compete in two cross-country skiing events but "cannot travel safely to Italy" due to the war pitting Iran against the United States and Israel, IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a statement.

"It is really disappointing for world sport and especially for Aboulfazl that he is unable to travel safely to compete at his third Paralympic Winter Games at Milano Cortina 2026," Parsons added.

"To not compete at a Paralympic Winter Games because of factors outside of his control after years of training and dedication is heartbreaking for the athlete and our sympathies are with Aboulfazl at this difficult time."

The 49-year-old Brazilian said that the IPC and the Games organisers had been working since the war's outbreak last Saturday to find "alternative routes for the safe passage of the Iran delegation to the Games" but added that ultimately "the risk to human life is too high".

Khatibi Mianaei's absence means that Iran's flag will not be included in the athlete parade during the opening ceremony later on Friday.

Speaking during a press conference in Cortina on Thursday, Parsons called the Middle East war a "breach of the Olympic truce" and added that it was the "third time in four Paralympic Winter Games that there is a conflict initiated in between the Olympics and Paralympics".

Parsons was referring to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its invasion of Ukraine four years ago.

IPC communications officer Craig Spence said on Thursday that the organisation wanted the focus "throughout the entire Paralympic Games to be on the athletes who have been training for this moment for four years to show off their abilities to the rest of the world".

The athletes will compete in six different sports spread across three sites, in the north of Italy, until March 15, in an event that comes hot on the heels of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

H.Darwish--SF-PST