An Iranian weightlifter has been punished by Iran's weightlifting federation for talking to and shaking hands with an Israeli participant at the World Masters Championship. The punishment is a lifetime ban. Mostafa Rajai came in second place and had his picture taken on a raised platform next to the Israeli athlete who won third place. Iran's highest weightlifting organization has prohibited him from using any sports facilities in the country forever. The government of Iran does not allow their athletes to compete directly against athletes from Israel. So, Iranian athletes sometimes use different ways like losing on purpose or pretending to be hurt to not have to play matches. Rajai, who is 40 years old, was wearing his country's flag and standing next to Maksim Svirsky from Israel on Saturday. The two people were at a competition for weightlifters who were not professional. The competition was held in Wieliczka, Poland and featured athletes who were considered legendary in the sport of weightlifting. Rajai was part of the Iranian national team in weightlifting. He also competed for Iran in the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Thailand in 2015. State news agency Irna said he did something that was against the rules of the Islamic Republic. The weightlifting federation in Iran fired the leader of their team, Hamid Salehinia, because of what happened at the contest. Iran's highest religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has encouraged athletes to avoid shaking hands with Israeli competitors in order to win a medal in 2021. Some Iranians have left their country due to the ban and not wanting to tolerate the limitation. Chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja had to leave his country because he was not allowed to participate in the 2019 world championship due to worries that he would have to compete against an Israeli player.