An Iranian athlete scheduled to compete in the Milan-Cortina Paralympics has withdrawn, as the International Paralympic Committee announced that heightened tensions in the Middle East made safe travel impossible.

Iran will not have any athlete competing at the Milan/Cortina Winter Paralympics, which open later on Friday, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said in a statement. The only athlete due to represent the country, Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, won't be able to travel safely due to ongoing conflict escalation in the Middle East, the IPC said.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed that Iran will not participate in the Milano Cortina Winter Games. This decision comes amidst ongoing regional conflict and related diplomatic tensions.

The Milan Cortina Winter Paralympics will officially open later Friday amid the tensions of war in the Middle East and with some countries intending to boycott the opening ceremony because of the return of the Russian flag to the global sports stage. Ukraine is leading the list of countries not attending the opening ceremony in Verona to protest the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow Russian athletes to compete under their own flag and with their national anthem.

Regarding the Milan-Cortina Paralympics opening on the 6th, the IPC (International Paralympic Committee) announced that 7 countries will not participate in the opening ceremony in protest of the participation of athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus, who continue their military invasion of Ukraine, as national representatives.

The International Paralympic Committee has forbidden the Ukrainian team from wearing a uniform depicting a map of Ukraine at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games, reports the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine...

Valerii Sushkevych, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, has reported that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned Ukrainian athletes from wearing a kit featuring a map of Ukraine at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

A week before the Paralympics open in Verona, a growing list of countries plans to skip the ceremony in protest at the inclusion of Russian athletes under their own flag, an escalating boycott that threatens to overshadow the start of the Games. The International Paralympic Committee has allocated 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian […]

The International Paralympic Committee General Assembly has decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Winter Paralympics under their flags and with their national anthems.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has reiterated its stance on allowing Russian athletes to compete, despite warnings of potential boycotts from other nations.

The International Paralympic Committee has allocated 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes.

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 19 - The Italian government has said it is against the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics under their own national flags. Russia and its ally Belarus have largely been banned from international sport since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with individual athletes having to take part in competition as neutrals. "The Italian Government expresses its absolute opposition to the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics under their national emblems, including their anthem," Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi said in a statement. "Russia's ongoing violation of the truce and of Olympic and Paralympic ideals, supported by Belarus, is incompatible with the participation of their athletes in the Games, except as neutral individual athletes". Ukraine said its officials will boycott the Paralympic Winter Games, while European Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef said he would not go to the opening ceremony in Verona on March 6 in protest. (ANSA). Read article...

The International Paralympic Committee announced that Aboulfazl Khatibi will not compete in the Games just hours before the opening ceremony

Latvia, along with Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Finland, and Sweden, issued a joint statement strongly condemning the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete with national symbols at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

Russian soldiers injured in the war against Ukraine would be welcome to compete at future Paralympic Games, says International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed the full reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes, who had been banned following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Three more European countries have joined the boycott of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics following the decision by the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russian and…

Ukraine will not be allowed to compete in their intended suits at the Paralympics. The proposed design has been banned by the International Paralympic Committee.

The conflict escalation in the Middle East is impacting the arrival of some delegations and other stakeholders to the Milan/Cortina Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said in a statement on Monday. The IPC said that "closure of airspace in the Middle East is impacting the arrival of some stakeholders" but that it would not comment on the status of individual delegations or stakeholders at this stage.

The International Paralympic Committee's general assembly voted last September to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags with their anthems at the upcoming…

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted to compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympics using their national flag and anthem, despite boycott warnings, citing a message of inclusion and diversity.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is maintaining its stance on allowing Russian athletes to compete, despite warnings of boycotts.

The President of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee told AFP he feels the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have betrayed Ukraine by permitting Russian athletes to compete under their own flag at the Milan-Cortina Games.The IPC decision to allow six Russians and four Belarusians to compete in the Games, which begin on March 6, has sparked a boycott of the event by Ukrainian officials as well as the EU Commissioner for Sport.

Ukrainian officials will boycott the Paralympic Winter Games, Kyiv said on Wednesday, after the International Paralympic Committee allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flag. The EU's sports commissioner Glenn Micallef said he would also skip the opening ceremony. FRANCE 24's Camille Corcoran reports.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that Iranian Aboulfazl Khatibi will not perform at the Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina.

Russian soldiers injured in the war against Ukraine would be welcome to compete at future Paralympic Games, says International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons.

The Paralympics aim to send a positive message to the world, but this message is at risk of being overshadowed, partly due to the International Paralympic Committee.

Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) will not show Russian and Belarusian athletes during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics, interrupting the broadcast as part of a boycott in protest against the decision of the International Paralympic Committee to allow them to compete under their national flags.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has banned Ukraine's national team from wearing sports uniforms with a political design at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 2 - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Monday that it is "closely monitoring" the situation in the Middle East in view of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, which open on Friday, after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the weekend. "We are assessing the impact on Games operations, in particular on travel, while maintaining a clear focus on delivering the best Paralympic Winter Games and ensuring the event continues to serve as ...

Finland will not attend the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics on 6 March in Verona after the International Paralympic Committee granted wildcard entries to Russian and Belarusian athletes. The Finnish Paralympic Committee announced the decision on Tuesday. The move follows a request from Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia and Poland will also stay away from the ceremony. The boycott concerns the opening event only.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games with their national flag and anthem, despite boycott warnings.

Latvian Paralympians have decided not to participate in the Winter Games opening ceremony, expressing solidarity with Ukraine and protesting the decision by the International Paralympic Committee and International Ski Federation to allow athletes from 'aggressor states' to compete.

There is widespread outrage in Ukraine following the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags in Italy.

The International Paralympic Committee has lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, allowing ten individuals to compete under their national flags at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina.