Iran `en garde’ about issuing invite. Iran, a sworn enemy of Israel, has denied inviting athletes from the Jewish state to attend an international fencing tournament in Tehran, Iranian media reported. The head of Israel’s fencing association, who said the team received an invitation, said he thought that it was sent to meet International Federation of Fencing tournament rules that all members be invited to competitions.
Iran’s fencing federation suggested that the invitation to next month’s event might have been extended by the Paris-based international fencing federation, the daily Johuri Eslami reported Monday.
The newspaper also quoted the Iranian federation as saying that athletes from Iran have repeatedly refused to compete against fencers of “the regime occupying” Jerusalem.
But the invitation apparently was signed by the vice president of the Iranian fencing group.
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