Iran protests ‘protection’ of Israel’s athletes at Olympics

France should not provide a “reception and protection” to Israel 's athletes at the Paris Olympics, according to Iran 's foreign ministry.

“Announcing the reception & protection of the Apartheid & terrorist Zionist regime's convoy only means giving legitimacy to the child killers,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry posted on social media.

That denunciation came in the wake of a hard-left French politician’s call on Monday to “mobilize” opposition to the presence of the Israeli athletes. Those comments “placed a target on the backs of the Israeli athletes,” according to a top French government official, a rebuke freighted with the memory of the massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

"I want to express my disgust at that,” French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Monday. “I want to assure the Israeli athletes of our full protection, like all athletes, but particularly them, also welcoming them.”

French officials have promised Israel’s delegation 24-hour protection in Paris. The extra security is becoming typical for Israel’s representatives in international competitions amid the war in Gaza. Israel’s Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, personally coordinated the security of singer Eden Golan, who represented Israel in the Eurovision competition hosted by Sweden in May.

The memory of the Munich terrorist attack also was revived in recent weeks when Adidas reissued a sneaker originally designed for the 1972 Olympics, backed by a marketing campaign featuring Palestinian American supermodel Bella Hadid.

“Connections continue to be made to the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Munich Olympics due to our recent SL72 campaign,” Adidas said on Sunday. “These connections are not meant and we apologize for any upset or distress caused to communities around the world. We made an unintentional mistake. We also apologize to our partners, Bella Hadid ... and others, for any negative impact on them and we are revising the campaign.”

Darmanin was stirred by French lawmaker Thomas Portes’s remarks over the weekend to a “pro-Palestinian” audience in the French capital.

“And I’m here to say that no, the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris,” he said. “Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris. We have to use this deadline and all the levers we have to mobilize.”

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Portes, in a subsequent media appearance, argued that Israeli athletes should be forced to compete under a neutral flag “as is done for Russia” in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Iran, which has provided a crucial supply of weapons to Russian forces during the conflict, took the proposal a step forward.

“They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza,” the foreign ministry argued.