Iran men's national water polo team
| FINA code | IRI |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Team Melli |
| Association | IR Iran Amateur Swimming Federation |
| Confederation | AASF (Asia) |
| Head coach | Aleksandar Ćirić |
| Asst coach | Vahid Rezaei |
| Captain | Hamed Malek-Khanbanan |
| Home venue | Shahid Shiroudi Stadium |
| Olympic Games | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1976) |
| Best result | 12th place (1976) |
| World Championship | |
| Appearances | 2 (first in 1975) |
| Best result | 15th place (1975, 1998) |
| World League | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2008) |
| Best result | Preliminary round (2008, 2009, 2010) |
| Asian Games | |
| Appearances | 10 (first in 1970) |
| Best result | Gold medal (1974) |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asian Games | ||
| 1974 Tehran | Team | |
| 2018 Jakarta | Team | |
The Iran men's national water polo team represents Iran in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by the IR Iran Amateur Swimming Federation.
Tournament records
Olympic Games
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900–1936 | not an IOC member | |||||
| 1948 | 18 | did not enter | ||||
| 1952 | 21 | |||||
| 1956 | 10 | |||||
| 1960 | 16 | |||||
| 1964 | 13 | |||||
| 1968 | 15 | |||||
| 1972 | 16 | did not qualify | ||||
| 1976 | 12 | 12th place | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 1980 | 12 | did not enter | ||||
| 1984 | 12 | |||||
| 1988 | 12 | |||||
| 1992 | 12 | |||||
| 1996 | 12 | did not qualify | ||||
| 2000 | 12 | did not enter | ||||
| 2004 | 12 | |||||
| 2008 | 12 | did not qualify | ||||
| 2012 | 12 | did not enter | ||||
| 2016 | 12 | did not qualify | ||||
| 2020 | 12 | |||||
| 2024 | 12 | |||||
| World Championships record | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
| 1973 | did not compete | |||||||||
| 1975 | Preliminary round | 15th place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 39 | -34 | |
| 1978 | did not compete | |||||||||
| 1982 | ||||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||||
| 1991 | ||||||||||
| 1994 | ||||||||||
| 1998 | Preliminary round | 15th place | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | -49 | -42 | |
| 2001 | did not compete | |||||||||
| 2003 | ||||||||||
| 2005 | ||||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||||
| 2009 | ||||||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||||
| 2013 | ||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||||
World League / World Cup
| Year | Rank | Pld | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | did not enter | |||
| 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | ||||
| 2007 | ||||
| 2008 | 5th place in Asia/Oceania | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 2009 | 3rd place in Asia/Oceania | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| 2010 | 6th place in Asia/Oceania | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 2011 | did not enter | |||
| 2012 | ||||
| 2013 | ||||
| 2014 | ||||
| 2015 | ||||
| 2016 | ||||
| 2017 | ||||
| 2018 | ||||
| 2019 | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| 2022 | ||||
| 2023 | 5th place in Division 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4th place in Division 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
World Cup (old format)
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 8 | did not enter | ||||
| 1981 | 8 | |||||
| 1983 | 8 | |||||
| 1985 | 8 | |||||
| 1987 | 8 | |||||
| 1989 | 8 | |||||
| 1991 | 8 | |||||
| 1993 | 8 | |||||
| 1995 | 8 | |||||
| 1997 | 8 | |||||
| 1999 | 8 | |||||
| 2002 | 8 | |||||
| 2006 | 8 | |||||
| 2010 | 8 | 8th place | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2014 | 8 | did not enter | ||||
| 2018 | 8 | |||||
Asian Games
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 2 | did not enter | ||||
| 1954 | 6 | |||||
| 1958 | 5 | |||||
| 1962 | 4 | |||||
| 1966 | 5 | |||||
| 1970 | 7 | 4th place | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1974 | 7 | Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1978 | 7 | did not enter | ||||
| 1982 | 8 | |||||
| 1986 | 6 | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1990 | 7 | 6th place | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | 6 | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 1998 | 9 | 5th place | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 2002 | 6 | 4th place | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2006 | 10 | 4th place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2010 | 9 | did not enter | ||||
| 2014 | 7 | |||||
| 2018 | 9 | 3rd place | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | 8 | 4th place | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Asian Championships
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 7 | 3rd place | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1988 | 6 | did not enter | ||||
| 1991 | 10 | 5th place | ||||
| 1995 | 13 | 3rd place | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2000 | 7 | did not enter | ||||
| 2005 | 8 | |||||
| 2009 | 6 | |||||
| 2012 | 4 | |||||
| 2012 | 9 | |||||
| 2015 | 5 | 4th place | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2016 | 8 | 4th place | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2022 | 10 | 4th place | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 2023 | 8 | Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2025 | 9 | 4th place | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
Asian Cup
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4 | Runners-up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3rd place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2013 | 6 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
FINA Development Trophy
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 12 | 3rd place | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | 12 | did not enter | ||||
| 2011 | 11 | Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | 12 | did not enter | ||||
| 2015 | 10 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 8 | disqualified | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
Islamic Solidarity Games
| Year | NoT | Rank | Pld | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 6 | 4th place | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | 5 | Runners-up | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Former coaches
- Nico Firoiu (1969–71, 1972–74)
- Ante Nakić
- Neven Kovačević
- Stanislav Pivovarov (2010)
- Paolo Malara (2011)
- Roman Poláčik (2011–2012)
- Paolo Malara (2013–2014)
- Sirous Taherian (2014--2016)[1]