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Iran sees drop in doping violations in 2025
According to Mehr News Agency, with just 10 days remaining in the 2025 calendar year, Iran’s National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) has closed the cases of 12 athletes by issuing final and definitive sanctions.
Wrestling accounted for the largest share with seven cases, followed by cycling with two, and athletics, basketball, and wushu with one each. Wrestling’s seven confirmed doping violations make it the sport with the highest number of offenders in Iran this year.
Distance runner Hossein Kayhani was the most prominent Iranian athlete to commit a doping violation. A 3,000m gold medalist at the 2018 Asian Games, the 35-year-old was banned for a second time in July and will serve an eight-year suspension after testing positive for erythropoietin (EPO) and stanozolol.
This marks a shift from last year, when powerlifting was the most affected sport. In 2024, 21 Iranian athletes across nine disciplines were found guilty of doping, with powerlifting accounting for eight of those cases.
According to the rulings issued so far, based on testing across various sports, both the number of athletes and the number of disciplines involved in doping have decreased. However, among the 12 athletes sanctioned this year, the identities of two minors have not been disclosed due to their age, raising a potential red flag for the future of Iranian sports.
With the remaining time until the end of 2025, these figures could still change, and the number of sports and athletes involved in doping may rise.