TEHRAN - Hakan Demir, head coach of Iran's national basketball team, confronts a new obstacle in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers that could determine his future in Iran.

The Iranian national basketball team are scheduled to face Qatar and India on February 4th and 7th in the first window of the 2025 Asia Cup qualifiers. The first match will be held in Tehran at the Azadi Basketball Hall, while the second match will be hosted by India.

Iran, with three championships in The FIBA Asia Cup in 2007, 2009, and 2013, and the runners-up in 2017, have always been the contenders for The FIBA Asia Cup title. It doesn't seem that qualifying for the Asia Cup will be a tough task for them.

According to the predetermined schedule, the Iranian Basketball Super League will be suspended on Feb. 13 to make players available for the national team's training camp. The first window of the Asia Cup basketball qualifiers will take place in end of February, and the national team's camp will commence on Feb. 13.

Demir, Turkish head coach of the Iranian national basketball team, who currently leads Turkey's Manisa team, is expected to arrive in the country on Feb. 9 or 10.

This might be his last appearance on Iran's bench in an international tournament, although nothing is certain yet. Javad Davari, President of the Iranian Basketball Federation, had previously stated that extending Hakan's contract with Iran depends on mutual agreement.

The schedule for Iran's first Asia Cup qualifiers window is as follows:

 February 23rd: Iran vs Qatar

February 26th: India vs Iran

The 2025 Asia Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, and Iran are in Group E alongside Kazakhstan, India, and Qatar. The FIBA Asia Cup, formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship, is an international basketball tournament held every four years among the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania.