by Christian Duque
I don’t generally write articles about politics for IronMag because politics really don’t have a lot to do with bodybuilding – at least not world politics. If we talk about politics in bodybuilding we’re not talking about what happens in Washington DC or at the United Nations. We’re talking more about the inner workings of judging panels. We’re talking about athlete-favoritism, maybe the role of big supplement companies or hometown advantages. That sort of thing is what we would be talking about. But we wouldn’t be talking about Republicans, Democrats, or the inner workings of international politics.
However when we are dealing with athletes from countries that do not have the greatest relationships diplomatically speaking with the United states, then we delve into the other political arena. There aren’t a lot of countries that we don’t have some sort of diplomatic relationship with. I can think of a few countries we have strained ties to, but there’s still something to work with. But when it comes to countries like Iran and North Korea, now we’re in a whole other category of countries where there are virtually no diplomatic ties between us. And while there aren’t a lot of bodybuilders coming from North Korea to the Mr Olympia there are at least two from Iran. For those out of the loop, Iran just recently launched ballistic missiles at a United States military base in Qatar and also was involved in a major war with one of our closest allies in the region, Israel, for 12 long days. So you can understand why there was a lot of doubt as to whether or not Hadi and Behrooz would be able to come to the 2025 Mr Olympia.
Now with Iran there’s always been an exception for athletic events and there is also a certain visa that can be obtained by International athletes that are attending sports festivals representing their country. The Olympia would most definitely qualify for this sort of thing even though it is not a mainstream sport. And that is somewhat of a factor because if we were talking about soccer, baseball, or boxing, there are a lot more resources to facilitate the free Ingress and egress of athletes of those particular sports than say bodybuilding. I don’t want to say that bodybuilding is not as important as basketball or baseball, but it’s a niche sport. And I know that we always hear that term but you can’t argue reality. At the end of the day we’re talking about a sport that even some its adherents don’t consider it to be as such. If you ask most bodybuilders they will tell you that it’s not a sport, rather, it’s a way of life. It’s a discipline. Whatever you want to call it, you have athletes from all over the world that come to compete at the biggest shows. And whether it’s the Arnold Classic in Columbus Ohio or it’s the Mr Olympia in Las Vegas, there are athletes from all over the world that want to come and compete on these two stages – in addition to many others. The question is, does the United States State Department view a sport like bodybuilding as important enough of a reason to admit somebody from Iran to compete?
They have in the past, but we hadn’t just had a war though. The little detail tends to make things a little different. That said, I think Iranian athletes and their fans can breathe a sigh of relief as of late June 2025. And that’s because peace arrived.
In years past there has always been a doubt as to whether or not Hadi would be able to compete. I mean it’s not just Iran. When you think about it, it’s any country. Look at Nathan De Asha. He’s from the United Kingdom and he has had trouble getting a visa to cross the Atlantic. Or go back and look at Lionel Beyeke from France. He also had some issues over the years getting a visa. So you can only imagine if an athlete from the United Kingdom or France had issues, then imagine an athlete coming from Iran or North Korea. The question is, will the war in 2025 that literally just ended in a ceasefire a couple of weeks ago make it harder for Hadi, Behrooz, and other Iranian athletes to compete in the West?
I think that thanks to the ceasefire and to the fact that it seems that the war is over, both of these guys – as well as other Iranian athletes – should be able to compete. But there’s another question at play, a question that many fans often ask. And that is why don’t these athletes emigrate to the United States and forgo any future Visa issues? Why don’t they just leave their countries behind and live in the United States. They could potentially get a green card and maybe one day apply for citizenship. Wouldn’t that make life so much easier?
What a lot of fans in the United States and [Western] Europe fail to understand is that bodybuilders from Iran are very attached to their countries. Look at 1983 Mr Olympia Samir Bannout. His entire family had to leave Lebanon because of the civil war. I’m sure that if things had been even slightly better they would not have done that. Maybe at some point Samir wanted to return. I think that for an athlete to leave their home country requires a great deal of stress and turmoil. Who wants to leave their home? Not only that, but bodybuilding in other parts of the world is very much a sport that represents a country. We have seen how Big Ramy gets when he returns to egypt. Entire streets have to be shut down. He will get a motorcade with police escorts. It’s not like he is just going to compete for himself or for whichever company sponsors him at the time. He is competing for Egypt. And when he does well he brings back the Sandow to the country that he comes from. Asking a competitor to leave their country and to become Americans simply because it’s more convenient to compete, is a hard sell. A lot of athletes are also very proud of where they come from – even if it’s not a perfect world there. I don’t think any Iranian would tell you that their current government, or the government they’ve had for the last four decades, is ideal, but Iran is home. Why would they give up their home to live in a foreign land?
All politics aside, Iranian fans love bodybuilding. And I can tell you that that is not in question because when Hadi won the People’s Champion award back in 2020 I felt like a whole part of the world was going to come undone. They felt that he should have been Mr Olympia that year. They were not content with the fact that he took Top 3 or that he won the People’s award. They wanted him to win. Then you fast forward to 2023 when Derek got the title and you see how the [Iranian] fans reacted to that. Now this is not to say that Hadi encouraged this behavior and it certainly was not a behavior that he asked for, but the reality of the matter is that a lot of Iranian fans and fans of Iranian bodybuilders around the world are some of the most fanatical of all. They love muscle and they love their favorite competitors. They are willing to travel to the farthest lengths of the world to see them compete. And this is because Iran treats physique-based sports with tremendous respect. Bodybuilding may be a niche sport in the United States, but that does not mean that it’s a niche sport elsewhere. You look at the reaction that Ramy gets in Egypt, or that Hadi gets in Iran, or that Kai Greene gets in India or China, and you quickly see the difference. It’s a niche, here. It’s the big leagues, elsewhere.
This is something that I think is lost upon a lot of fans, here, in the United States and maybe even in Western Europe. I feel that the United States and Western Europe do not look at bodybuilding quite the same way as the fans look at it in Eastern Europe, the Middle East (including Persia), and also parts of Asia. In those parts of the world bodybuilding is king. Therefore, I think that for either Hadi or Behrooz or any other Iranian athlete to leave their country simply because it would be more convenient to live elsewhere for visa purposes would not only be disingenuous, but it would also be a betrayal to their fans.
That said, bodybuilding cannot ignore wars, conflicts, or diplomatic turmoil. And had the war continued, I think there would have been a very high likelihood that neither Hadi nor Behrooz would have been able to compete at the Olympia. For whatever it’s worth, President Trump and many Middle Eastern partners like Qatar, Oman, the UAE and others facilitated a diplomatic resolution. They ended fighting between the United States and Iran, as well as between Iran and Israel. As a result, peace has reigned in and I believe that despite whatever may have happened in the months preceding July 2025, I think that all is well with regards to Iranian athletes being able to compete on American stages moving forward. I do not believe that neither Hadi or Behrooz will risk not being able to compete at the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding. And let me tell you, both of these amazing athletes have the potential to break into the Top 6 this year. Hadi has the potential to win back the title, but Behrooz very much has the potential to land himself a Top 6 spot. That would be no short feat because Iran would have two competitors in the Top 6. That’s a tremendous amount of bragging rights around the world. So let’s see what happens in the next few months.
As always, I want to thank you for reading my article here at IronMag. What’s your take on the international situation and do you agree with me that Iranian bodybuilders will not have a tough time being able to compete on American and/or European stages thanks to the fact that the war was put to bed? As always, I look forward to reading your feedback in the comments. Be sure to copy and paste a link to this article on all of your social media feeds. It will definitely drum up some lively conversation.
