Paralympics: Iranian athlete refuses to shake hands with Duchess of Cambridge

An Iranian athlete refused to shake the Duchess of Cambridge’s hand after she presented him with a silver medal in the Olympic Stadium on Sunday night for “cultural reasons”, it has emerged.

Discus thrower Mehrdad Karam Zadeh finished second behind Briton Aled Davies in the F42-class discus on Sunday morning, and received his medal from the Duchess in the main stadium last night.

The Duchess was introduced to a huge cheer from a capacity crowd, but when she presented Zadeh with his medal it was noticeable that the 40 year-old athlete failed to shake her hand.

Bronze medallist Lezheng Wang and Davies both shook her hand after receiving their medals, with the Welshman exchanging words with the Duchess, who has been a regular spectator at the Paralympics.

The Iranian delegation in London were unavailable for comment when contacted this morning, but they have told Games organisers that Zadeh’s actions were not politically motivated.

According to sources the Iranian’s actions were based on gender, with cultural convention preventing a man from shaking the hand of a woman.

The Iranians have said that had the medal been presented by a man Zadeh would have shaken his hand. Similarly, had the Duchess presented the medal to a female Iranian athlete they would not have hesitated to shake hands.

The ceremony was the first at which the Duchess of Cambridge presented medals. It was a “happy coincidence” that the first recipient was British, her spokesman said.

A spokesman for St James’s Palace said the Duchess was aware that there would be no handshake, and considered it an honour to present the medals.

“Many male athletes from Islamic countries do not shake hands in public with women they are not related for cultural and religious reasons.

“The Duchess was informed in advance and was happy to accept his wishes. She considered it an honour to present the medals.”

Tensions between Britain and Iran have been running high, with the UK withdrawing diplomats from Tehran in 2011.

In 2007 relations reached a nadir when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard captured 15 Royal Navy personnel off the Iran-Iraq coast and held them for 13 days.

The Islamic Republic has found itself on the defensive in the past week on its home territory as it hosted the 120-state Non-Aligned Movement conference. Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General, denounced the regime for its persistent threats to destroy Israel and Holocaust denial, and called on Ayatollahs to co-operate fully with the UN over its nuclear programme.

Yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called on the international community to get tougher against Iran, saying that without a “clear red line,” Tehran will not halt its nuclear programme.

“Until Iran sees this clear red line and this determination, it will not stop its advancement of the Iranian nuclear programme. Iran must not have a nuclear weapon,” he declared.

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