TEHRAN - President of Iran’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) Reza Salehi Amiri held fruitful discussions with the Iran athletics federation’s officials on Thursday.

Salehi Amiri was accompanied by NOC secretary general Keykavous Saeidi and Peyman Fakhri, Director of the National Teams' Monitoring Center in the NOC.

“I am confident that athletics will protect our reputation in the international events. The sports have spread across the country and can attract the talented athletes from the country.

“We know that to win a medal in the team sport is a great honor but I believe that taking a medal in athletics is special. It can take us to the optimal point in sports,” Salehi Amiri said.

Salehi Amiri said that the NOC will not stop supporting the Iranian athletes since they are the country’s children.

“Our girls have progressed well over the past years and have convinced us to support them more,” he added.

Hossein Rahmati, a member of Iran Athletics Federation’s Board of Directors, also talked about the problems the federation faces due to the sanctions.

“Due to the fact that we have financial problems to supply athletic equipment in the country, we managed to buy new equipment from the European and Asian countries by attracting financial resources outside the federation. The first part of the consignment has entered the country and the second part will enter in the next few weeks,” Rahmati said.

“Most of the foreign exchange resources needed to set up the training camps for the athletes outside the country have been provided by the sponsors,” he added.