Iran men's national volleyball team

Iran

Nickname(s)	Shiran parsi, Princes of lran, lranian tall men
Association	IRIVF
Confederation	AVC
Head coach	Roberto Piazza
FIVB ranking	15 (as of 8 January 2025)
Uniforms
Home Away Third
Summer Olympics
Appearances	2 (First in 2016 )
Best result	5th (2016)
World Championship
Appearances	8 (First in 1970 )
Best result	6th (2014)
World Cup
Appearances	4 (First in 1991 )
Best result	8th (2015, 2019)
Asian Championship
Appearances	20 (First in 1979 )
Best result	(2011, 2013, 2019, 2021)
volleyball.ir
Honours Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Grand Champions Cup 0 0 1 Asian Championship 4 3 1 Asian Games 3 3 1 Asian Cup 3 2 0 Other official tournaments 6 2 0 Total 16 10 3 Medal record World Grand Champions Cup 2017 Japan Team Asian Championship 2011 Tehran Team 2013 Dubai Team 2019 Tehran Team 2021 Chiba/Funabashi Team 2009 Manila Team 2015 Tehran Team 2023 Urmia Team 2003 Tianjin Team Asian Games 2014 Incheon Team 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Team 2022 Hangzhou Team 1958 Tokyo Team 2002 Busan Team 2010 Guangzhou Team 1966 Bangkok Team Asian Cup 2008 Nakhon Ratchasima Team 2010 Urmia Team 2016 Nakhon Pathom Team 2012 Vinh Yen Team 2018 Taipei Team Islamic Solidarity Games 2005 Mecca/Medina/Jeddah/Ta’if Team 2013 Palembang Team 2017 Baku Team 2021 Konya Team West Asian Games 2005 Doha Team Central Asian Nations League 2023 Cholpon-Ata Team 2025 Fergana Team 2022 Lahore Team

The Iran men's national volleyball team is the official national men's volleyball team of Iran. It is governed by the Iran Volleyball Federation (I.R.I.V.F.) and takes part in international volleyball competitions. Iranian volleyball is one of the best teams in the world. Iranian volleyball has a history of being ranked sixth in the world rankings. ^[1]

As of 11 September 2022, Team Melli is considered as the First team in Asia, as it ranks 7th in the FIVB World Rankings. ^[2]

The national team won the Asian Volleyball Championship four times: in 2011 Tehran, 2013 Dubai, 2019 Tehran and 2021 Chiba & Funabashi

In its first appearance in the competition since joining the 2013 World League, Iran has been a dominant force in Group 1.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2014 World League campaign, Iran's national team reached fourth place in Group 1 after a straight-set defeat to their Italian hosts in the bronze medal match. In these games, Iran had already defeated Brazil, Italy and Poland.^{[ citation needed ]}

Iran has also competed in the World Championship four times, with their best result obtained in 2014 Poland where they ended up in 6th place. In those games Iran qualified from the first and second rounds with, respectively, four and five wins; their only defeat was against France.^{[ citation needed ]}

Iran defeated Japan to win the gold medal at the Asian Games Korea in 2014. Consecutively, in the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, Iran cruised past Japan and South Korea to win the gold medal.

Iran made it to the Olympic Games for the first time in their history in 2016 as the top-ranked Asian squad at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan. Iran finished in 5th place in the competition.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The history of Iran's national volleyball team dates back to around 1942 when Alireza Beiranvand brought volleyball regulations to Iran. During World War II, Allied forces occupied Iran, and Iranians participated in sports, including volleyball, with soldiers. At that time a friendly match was arranged between the Iranian and Russian Army teams. In 1958, for the first time, national men's team of Pakistan was invited to Tehran for some friendly matches with the national team, club teams and the Army team. Iran's national team first attended an international competition at the 1958 Asian Games, where they won the silver medal. ^[3]

Tournament records

Further information: Iran men's national volleyball team results

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad		GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1964	Did not participate or Did not qualify									6	2	4	10	12
1968										Did not participate or Did not qualify
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004										7	4	3	13	11
2008										7	2	5	11	16
2012										7	5	2	16	9
2016	Quarterfinals	5th place	6	2	4	8	12	Squad	7	6	1	18	11
2020	Preliminary round	9th place	5	2	3	9	11	Squad	8	7	1	21	7
2024	Did not qualify								7	1	6	7	19
2028	Future event								Future event
2032
Total	2/16		11	4	7	17	23	—	49	27	22	96	85

World Championship

World Championship record Qualification record Year Round Position GP MW ML SW SL Squad GP MW ML SW SL 1949 Did not participate Did not participate 1952 1956 1960 1962 1966 1970 17th–24th places 21st place 11 4 7 16 24 Squad Qualification via Asian Games 1974 Did not participate Did not participate 1978 1982 Did not qualify Qualification via Asian Championship 1986 Did not participate Did not participate 1990 Did not qualify Qualification via Asian Championship 1994 4 1 3 3 9 1998 First round 19th place 3 0 3 0 9 Squad 2 1 1 3 4 2002 Did not participate Did not participate 2006 First round 21st place 5 0 5 2 15 Squad 3 3 0 9 0 2010 First round 19th place 3 1 2 5 7 Squad 6 5 1 16 7 2014 5th place match 6th place 12 7 5 26 21 Squad 3 3 0 9 0 2018 Second round 13th place 8 4 4 14 16 Squad 4 4 0 12 0 2022 Round of 16 13th place 4 2 2 7 9 Squad Qualification via Asian Championship 2025 Qualified Total 8/20 46 18 28 70 101 — 22 17 5 52 20

World Cup

World Cup record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1965	Did not participate
1969
1977
1981
1985
1989	Did not qualify
1991	7th–12th places	11th place	8	1	7	5	23	Squad
1995	Did not qualify
1999
2003
2007
2011	Round-robin	9th place	11	5	6	16	25	Squad
2015	Round-robin	8th place	11	4	7	16	24	Squad
2019	Round-robin	8th place	11	4	7	19	25	Squad
Total	4/14		41	14	27	56	97	—

World Grand Champions Cup

  Third place    Fourth place

World Grand Champions record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1993	Did not qualify
1997
2001
2005
2009	Round-robin	5th place	5	1	4	8	14	Squad
2013	Round-robin	4th place	5	3	2	10	10	Squad
2017	Round-robin	3rd place	5	4	1	12	10	Squad
Total	3/7		15	8	7	30	34	—

World League

  Fourth place

World League record (Defunct)										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad		GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1990	Did not participate									Did not participate
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	6
2011										Qualification via World Rankings
2012										1	0	1	1	3
2013	Intercontinental round	9th place	10	5	5	20	21	Squad		4	4	0	12	1
2014	3rd place match	4th place	16	7	9	28	32	Squad		Directly qualified
2015	Intercontinental round	7th place	12	6	6	25	21	Squad
2016	Intercontinental round	8th place	9	4	5	15	22	Squad
2017	Intercontinental round	11th place	9	3	6	11	23	Squad
Total	5/28		56	25	31	99	119	56	7	4	3	13	10

Nations League

Nations League record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2018	Preliminary round	10th place	15	7	8	29	30	Squad
2019	Final round pool play	5th place	17	12	5	41	21	Squad
2021	Preliminary round	12th place	15	5	10	25	32	Squad
2022	Quarterfinals	7th place	13	7	6	24	22	Squad
2023	Preliminary round	14th place	12	2	10	16	31	Squad
2024	Preliminary round	15th place	12	2	10	14	34	Squad
2025	Preliminary round	9th place	12	6	6	25	24	Squad
2026	Qualified
Total	7/7		96	41	55	174	194	—

Asian Championship

 Champions    Runners up    Third place    Fourth place

Asian Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1975	Did not participate
1979	Classification 5th–8th	6th place	6	3	3	12	10	Squad
1983	Did not participate
1987	9th place match	10th place	7	4	3	13	12	Squad
1989	7th place match	8th place	8	3	5	11	15	Squad
1991	7th place match	7th place	7	3	4	11	14	Squad
1993	5th place match	5th place	7	4	3	12	11	Squad
1995	Championship	4th place	7	4	3	12	13	Squad
1997	Classification 5th–8th	6th place	5	2	3	8	11	Squad
1999	Classification 5th–8th	5th place	6	4	2	13	10	Squad
2001	5th place match	5th place	6	4	2	14	10	Squad
2003	Championship	3rd place	7	5	2	16	12	Squad
2005	5th place match	6th place	5	3	2	12	10	Squad
2007	Championship	5th place	9	5	4	17	18	Squad
2009	Final	Runners-up	8	7	1	22	10	Squad
2011	Final	Champions	8	8	0	24	2	Squad
2013	Final	Champions	7	7	0	21	1	Squad
2015	Final	Runners-up	8	6	2	20	9	Squad [a]
2017	5th place match	5th place	8	6	2	20	10	Squad [b]
2019	Final	Champions	8	7	1	22	4	Squad
2021	Final	Champions	7	7	0	21	1	Squad
2023	Final	Runners-up	5	4	1	12	4	Squad
2026	Future event
Total	4 Titles	20/22	139	96	43	313	187	—

Asian Games

 Champions    Runners up    Third place    Fourth place

Asian Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1958	Round-robin	Runners-up	4	3	1	9	6	Squad
1962	Did not participate
1966	Final round	3rd place	8	5	3	16	14	Squad
1970	Round-robin	5th place	7	3	4	11	14	Squad
1974	3rd place match	4th place	5	2	3	7	9	Squad
1978	Did not participate
1982
1986
1990
1994	5th place match	5th place	9	5	4	16	16	Squad
1998	Did not participate
2002	Final	Runners-up	6	4	2	12	10	Squad
2006	5th place match	6th place	3	1	2	6	7	Squad
2010	Final	Runners-up	9	8	1	25	4	Squad
2014	Final	Champions	8	8	0	24	2	Squad
2018	Final	Champions	5	5	0	15	0	Squad
2022	Final	Champions	5	5	0	15	2	Squad
2026	Future event
2030
2034
Total	3 Titles	11/17	69	49	20	156	84	—

Asian Cup

 Champions    Runners up    Fourth place

Asian Cup record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2008	Final	Champions	6	5	1	16	8	Squad
2010	Final	Champions	6	6	0	18	6	Squad
2012	Final	Runners-up	6	5	1	16	7	Squad [a]
2014	3rd place match	4th place	6	4	2	14	9	Squad [a]
2016	Final	Champions	6	6	0	18	5	Squad [a]
2018	Final	Runners-up	5	4	1	14	5	Squad [a]
2022	5th place match	5th place	5	3	2	11	8	Squad [c]
Total	3 Titles	7/7	40	33	7	107	48	—

Other tournaments

Islamic Solidarity Games

 Champions  

Islamic Solidarity Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2005	Final	Champions	8	8	0	24	3	Squad
2010	Cancelled
2013	Final	Champions	6	6	0	18	2	Squad [a]
2017	Final	Champions	6	6	0	18	3	Squad [c]
2021	Final	Champions	5	4	1	14	4	Squad [a]
2025	Future event
Total	4 Titles	4/4	25	24	1	74	12	—

West Asian Games

  Runners up  

West Asian Games record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2005	Round-robin	Runners-up	5	4	1	14	4	Squad
Total	1/1		5	4	1	14	4	—

Central Asian Nations League

 Champions    Runners up

Central Asian Nations League record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2022	Final	Runners-up	5	3	2	10	6	Squad [d]
2023	Round-robin	Champions	6	5	1	17	4	Squad [d]
2024	Preliminary round	5th place	5	2	3	7	11	Squad [c]
2025	Final	Champions	6	6	0	18	3	Squad [a]
Total	2 Titles	4/4	22	16	6	52	24	—

Results and fixtures

Main article: Iran men's national volleyball team results

A team

Date	Location	Competition	Opponent	Result
2025
11 Jun	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	2025 Nations League	Brazil	0–3 L
12 Jun			United States	2–3 L
13 Jun			Slovenia	2–3 L
15 Jun			Ukraine	3–2 W
25 Jun	Belgrade, Serbia		Serbia	3–1 W
27 Jun			Argentina	3–1 W
28 Jun			Germany	1–3 L
29 Jun			Netherlands	3–2 W
16 Jul	Gdańsk, Poland		Poland	2–3 L
17 Jul			China	3–0 W
19 Jul			France	0–3 L
20 Jul			Bulgaria	3–0 W
14 Sep	Pasay, Philippines	2025 World Championship	Egypt
16 Sep			Tunisia
18 Sep			Philippines

B team

Date	Location	Competition	Opponent	Result
2025
29 May	Fergana, Uzbekistan	2025 CAVA Nations League	India	3–1 W
30 May			Turkmenistan	3–1 W
31 May			Uzbekistan	3–0 W
2 Jun			Kazakhstan	3–0 W
3 Jun			Pakistan	3–1 W
4 Jun			India	3–0 W

Team

Current squad

Representing Iran at the 2025 FIVB Men's World Volleyball Championship, Philippines

No.	Name	Date of birth	Height	Weight	Spike	Block	2024 club
1	Arshia Beh-nezhad	4 August 2003	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	78 kg (172 lb)	363 cm (143 in)	366 cm (144 in)	Saipa Tehran
1	Ali Haaji-pour	1 July 2001	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	88 kg (194 lb)	363 cm (143 in)	366 cm (144 in)	Foolad Sirjaan
2	Ali Ramezani	1 July 2001	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)	92 kg (203 lb)	363 cm (143 in)	366 cm (144 in)	Foolad Sirjaan
2	Neema Baateni	2007	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)		363 cm (143 in)	366 cm (144 in)
3	Morteza Sharifi	9 April 2001	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)	79 kg (174 lb)	373 cm (147 in)	354 cm (139 in)	Galatasaray, Turkey
9	Pouriya Hossein-Khaanzadeh	18 December 1989	2.02 m (6 ft 8 in)	90 kg (200 lb)	325 cm (128 in)	320 cm (130 in)	Volley Lube, Italy
10	Ameen Esmaeil-Nezhaad	31 March 1999	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	300 cm (120 in)	290 cm (110 in)	PGE Skra Bełchatów
6	Bardiya Sa'adat	12 August 2002	2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	292 cm (115 in)	281 cm (111 in)	Tourshad, Turkey
21	Arman Salehi	29 October 1992	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)	81 kg (179 lb)	375 cm (148 in)	345 cm (136 in)	Shahdaab Yazd
12	Amir Hossein Essfandiyar	24 January 1999	2.09 m (6 ft 10 in)	110 kg (240 lb)	355 cm (140 in)	348 cm (137 in)	InPost ChKS Chełm, Poland
8	Mohammad Reza Hazrat-pour	1 July 2004	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	87 kg (192 lb)	375 cm (148 in)	355 cm (140 in)	Shahrdari Urmia
22	Ali Haq-parast	30 October 1997	1.99 m (6 ft 6 in)	83 kg (183 lb)	330 cm (130 in)	310 cm (120 in)	Seoul Woori Card WooriWON, South Korea
14	Javad Karimi	17 December 1996	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	365 cm (144 in)	344 cm (135 in)	Itambé Minas
66	Seyed Eessa Nasseri	10 October 1989	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	329 cm (130 in)	315 cm (124 in)	Peykaan, Iran
20	Yussuf Kazemi	17 November 1998	2.10 m (6 ft 11 in)	100 kg (220 lb)	383 cm (151 in)	355 cm (140 in)	Shahdaab Yazd, Iran
11	Mateen Ahmadi	1 March 1998	2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)	104 kg (229 lb)	330 cm (130 in)	310 cm (120 in)	Shahrdari Urmia
7	Ehsan Daanesh-Doost	7 January 2003	1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)	95 kg (209 lb)	373 cm (147 in)	355 cm (140 in)	Mehregaan Noor
27	Mohammad Vali-Zadeh	27 May 1999	2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)	93 kg (205 lb)	340 cm (130 in)	320 cm (130 in)	Foolad Sirjaan

Head coaches

Note: The following list may not be complete.

Iran volleyball team members June 2015

A Team

Name	From	To	notes
Sardar Nasrollahkhan [4]	1958		1958 Asian Games Runners-up
Fereydoon Sharifzadeh	1958	1963
Hossein Jabbarzadegan	1964	1966	1966 Asian Games 3rd place
Miloslav Ejem	1970	1972
Tadaee Korada	1974		1974 Asian Games 4th place
Park Sung	1979
Yadollah Kargarpisheh	1979	1981
Farough Fakhredini	1987
Masoud Salehieh	1987	1989
Hossein Ali Mehranpour	1989	1991
Mohammad Heidarkhan	1991
Ivans Bugajenkovs	1991	1993	Acted as head coach from 1991 to 1993 and as the general technical manager of all age groups from 1991 to 2007.
Fumihiko Matsumoto	1994
Masoud Salehieh	1995		1995 Asian Championship 4th place
Mehdi Saberpour	1997
Fumihiko Matsumoto	1998
Mostafa Karkhaneh	1999	2001
Hossein Ali Mehranpour	2001
Park Ki-won	2002	2005	2002 Asian Games Runners-up 2003 Asian Championship 3rd place
Milorad Kijac	2006
Zoran Gajić	2007	2008
Hossein Maadani	2008	2010	2008 Asian Cup Champions 2009 Asian Championship Runners-up 2010 Asian Cup Champions 2010 Asian Games Runners-up
Julio Velasco	2011	2014	2011 Asian Championship Champions 2013 Asian Championship Champions 2013 World Grand Champions Cup 4th place
Slobodan Kovač	2014	2015	2014 World League 4th place 2014 World Championship 6th place 2014 Asian Games Champions
Raúl Lozano	2016		2016 Olympic Games 5th place
Igor Kolaković	2017	2020	2017 World Grand Champions Cup 3rd place 2018 Asian Games Champions 2019 Nations League 5th place 2019 Asian Championship Champions 2020 Olympic Games Qualification
Vladimir Alekno	2020	2021	2020 Olympic Games 9th place
Behrouz Ataei	2021	2023	2021 Asian Championship Champions 2023 Asian Championship Runners-up 2022 Asian Games Champions
Maurício Paes	2024
Peyman Akbari	2024
Roberto Piazza	2025

Technical Staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Italy Roberto Piazza
Assistant Coach	Italy Tomaso Totolo
Assistant Coach
	Iran Abdolreza Alizadeh
	Iran Reza Tond-ravaan
	General Manager	Iran Amir Khosh-khabar
Physical Preparation and Conditioning Coach	Italy Giovanni Rossi
Physiotherapist	Iran Ali Haddadi
Masseur	Iran Mohammad Naser Noghre Permosaei
Analyzer	Iran Amin Shakeri

Stadium

Azadi indoor stadium with Iranian fans

Rezazadeh Stadium in 2019 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League

The team's home arena are Azadi Indoor Stadium, Azadi Volleyball Hall, Rezazadeh Stadium and Ghadir Stadium.

Kit providers

The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Iran national volleyball team.

Period	Kit provider
2000–2018	Asics Mikasa Fuerza Mizuno Ideal
2025-	Merooj

Sponsorship

Primary sponsors include: main sponsors like MCI and Tourism Bank, Refah Stores other sponsors: Roamer.^{[ citation needed ]}

Notes

1. Iran played with their "B" team.
2. Iran played with their "U23" team.
3. Iran played with their "U21" team.
4. Iran played with their "U19" team.

References

1. "تیم ملی والیبال ایران برای نخستین بار ششم جهان شد". ایرنا (in Persian). 5 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
2. "FIVB Senior World Ranking - Men". FIVB website. FIVB. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
3. "Brief History of Iran Men's Volleyball". I.R Iran VolleyBall Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
4. "خارجی‌های والیبال؛ از سردار تا ولاسکو". Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.

• (in Persian) Asian Volleyball Championship
• (in Persian) Volleyball at the Asian Games
• (in Persian) Iran Volleyball History

External links

• Volleyball portal

• Official website
• FIVB profile