Volleyball - Team Islamic Republic of Iran

General
The Islamic Republic of Iran are two-time defending Asian Games champions, having claimed gold at both Incheon 2014 and Indonesia 2018. In 2014 they became the first team other than Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the People's Republic of China to win the title when they defeated the Japanese team 3-1 in the gold medal match. Their second gold four years later was their sixth medal from 10 appearances, with their first [a silver] coming on their debut in 1958.

The Iranian team were ruthless at the 2018 Games, where they did not drop a single set on their way to securing back-to-back titles. Following pool victories over Pakistan and Mongolia, they beat the People's Republic of China and Qatar in the knockout rounds before overcoming the Republic of Korea in the final.

The team have also seen success at the Asian championship, where they claimed back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2021. At the 2021 edition of the tournament they only lost one set, to the People's Republic of China in the semifinals, before securing a 3-0 victory in the final over Japan. It was their fourth Asian championship title since 2011, a period in which the Japanese team have been their closest Asian rivals. Japan won the 2015 Asian Championship final against the Iranian team.

The Iranians have participated at seven editions of the world championship since making their debut in 1970, with a sixth-place finish in 2014 representing their best performance to date. At the 2022 World Championship, the team recorded two wins from three pool matches to advance to the round of 16, where they lost 3-0 to Brazil. They did not progress from their group at the 2020 Olympic Games after losing three of five pool matches, including a 3-2 defeat to hosts Japan.

The Islamic Republic of Iran competed in all four editions of the Nations League between 2018 and 2022, progressing to the final round in 2019 and 2022. They lost in the quarterfinals to Poland, 3-2, in 2022.