Iran condemned Tuesday the "reception and protection" of “Israeli” athletes at the Olympic games in Paris, demanding their exclusion over the ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.

"Announcing the reception and protection of the apartheid terrorist Zionist regime's delegation means giving legitimacy to the child killers," Iran's foreign ministry said in a post on X.

“They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza,” the statement added.

The “Israeli” delegation, which headed to France on Monday ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, is being tightly protected in the French capital amid growing international outrage.

In February, Iran's football federation asked the sport's governing body, FIFA, to suspend “Israel”.

Last August, Iranian authorities imposed a lifetime ban on weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei after he shook hands with an “Israeli” competitor at an event in Poland, state media reported at the time – per Agence France-Presse (AFP).