Dr. Mahdi Latififard
PhD in Sports Management from Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. He conducts research on communication in the sports realm. He has been working as the guest editor of special issues in the journal of Communication & Sport and the International Journal of Sport Communication.
Email: Mahdilatififard@gmail.com
Twitter: @Mahdii_fard
Dr. Sean R. Sadri
Assistant Professor of Sports Media in the Department of Journalism and Creative Media at the University of Alabama. He teaches and conducts research on sports journalism in the modern media ecosystem. He has published manuscripts in Communication & Sport, Journalism Studies, and Journalism Practice.
Email: srsadri@ua.edu
Twitter: @seansadri
In nations where policy and diplomacy are explicitly aligned with a specific ideology, such as Iran with its adherence to Islamic principles, the potential for politicization extends to all facets of society, including sports and media. This report examines how Iranian state-run media functions as a tool to disseminate the regime’s political agenda, particularly within the context of sports mega events (e.g., Olympic Games). Textual analysis of media content suggests that the Iranian state utilizes media as a platform for propagating its political viewpoints, employing framing techniques to portray the United States as a non-hegemonic power and Israel as an apartheid state—which they characterize as the system of institutionalized discrimination in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. These media portrayals are facilitated by the centralized nature of the Iranian media system, where all outlets are state-owned, allowing for direct governmental control over messaging. Through a comprehensive review of Iranian television and radio programming, specific media strategies employed to convey the regime’s political agenda are identified and discussed.
Politicization of Sporting Achievements. Iranian broadcasters have framed the United States’ medal success in the Olympics as a product of political influence, rather than purely athletic merit. This claim was supported by anecdotal evidence, such as Sport Network (the specialized broadcaster for sport events) highlighting the presence of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Taekwondo competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, implying that his involvement unfairly favored US athletes over Iranian competitors.
Constructing an East-West Dichotomy. Iranian media aimed to emphasize an ‘East vs. West’ narrative throughout the Games. With the US initially trailing in the gold medal count of the 2024 Olympics with Australia, China, and Japan taking the early lead, Iranian broadcasters, such as Sport Network and Third Television (IRIB TV3), characterized the initial dominance as a ‘monopoly by the East bloc.’ This framing was strategically employed despite the predictable rise of the United States to the top of the medal table, likely to bolster the perception of Eastern nations and simultaneously undermine the perceived sporting dominance of Western countries, particularly the US.
Sweeping Censorship. The Iranian media system exhibits a long-standing history of censorship, deeply intertwined with the government’s ideological control. This control is evident in the regime’s monopoly over mass communication outlets, particularly television. A consistent time lag between live events and their broadcast on Iranian television provides a mechanism for censorship, allowing authorities to selectively edit or remove content deemed objectionable. This is illustrated by the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Sport Network and Third Television, where viewers were presented with pre-recorded, censored footage of the Parade of Nations when it reached the IOC Refugee Olympic Team; 14 of the 37 athletes were Iranian refugees who fled the nation. This censorship operates in tandem with framing techniques, which, in turn, reinforce the regime’s narrative. Another prominent example is the censorship of female athlete participation in certain sports like swimming and gymnastics. The regime’s strict interpretation of Islamic ideology (mandating the use of a hijab during sporting events) motivates this censorship, as the representation of uncovered female athletes could potentially challenge political authority and inspire dissent among Iranian women. Therefore, censorship within Iranian media serves not only to suppress information but also to actively shape public perception and maintain ideological control.
Competitive Framing. The Iranian media system employed a competitive framing strategy during the 2024 Paris Olympics, aimed at amplifying the regime’s antagonistic stance towards Israel. This strategy, rooted in the regime’s long-standing policy of opposition to Israel, manifested in calls for a boycott of Israeli athletes participating in the Games. To reinforce this narrative, Iranian media—encompassing television (e.g., Sport Network and Third Television), radio (e.g., Sport Radio), newspapers (e.g., Kayhan Newspaper), and news agencies (e.g., Fars News Agency)—constructed a competitive framing strategy. They referenced the IOC’s decision to ban Russian athletes from the Games due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, creating a parallel between Russia’s exclusion and their demand for Israel’s removal. Despite Russian athletes ultimately participating under the banner of AIN (translated as Individual Neutral Athletes), Iranian media deliberately omitted this detail, focusing instead on the perceived double standard applied to Israel. By highlighting this perceived disparity, Iranian media sought to propagate the assertion that the IOC is complicit in Israel’s actions in Palestine, further solidifying the regime’s anti-Israel narrative within the international sporting arena. This approach is a clear example of Iranian media’s role as a state-owned propaganda tool, omitting important information to advance the regime’s political agenda.
