Sanctions slam dunk Americans' hoop dreams

The United States' increasingly tough stance on Iran has produced an unlikely casualty - the small but steady stream of homegrown basketball players who have found homes playing for teams in the Islamic republic.

As many as 20 US players were in Iran as recently as last year in a rare instance of cultural exchange between the countries but now the number is down to just two.

And the US Treasury is reported to have opened an investigation into the players for possible sanctions violations - which could result in a US$50,000 ($75,500) fine.

The BBC reported the story from Tehran based on conversations with diplomats and an Iranian adviser to the country's basketball teams.

Basketball is a shared passion between the two adversaries - a little like the baseball mania that bonds the US and Cuba - and it led to a steady inflow of US players to Iran over the past three to four years.

A BBC documentary last year chronicled both the cultural differences - the Iranians greet each other by kissing each other on both cheeks, while the Americans do a high five - and also the similarities in the approach to playing a game.

"Basketball is universal, so there's no colour, no race. We just bond," American player Andre Pitts - playing for the Tehran team Saba Battery - told the BBC at the time.

The Iranian media was delighted to have some flesh-and-blood Americans on hand to say positive things about a country their President has designated as part of the "axis of evil".

Calvin Warner, a player from Florida who wound up on Isfahan's Zob Ahan team, told an Iranian radio station he was delighted with the welcome he had received.

"Everybody is nice. Everybody wants you to be here. Everybody wants you to enjoy the good things about their country, and they want you to realise that it's not as bad as it seems on TV," he said.

With US officials remaining tight-lipped, it's hard to know if they felt uncomfortable about such comments, or if they simply want to get tough with Iran in every possible arena.

Technically, any US citizen wanting to sell or provide a service to Iran needs a special licence.

According to the BBC's sources in Tehran, the understanding was that this need not apply to sports players or individual service-providers such as English language teachers.

- INDEPENDENT