The Olympic Truce is a tradition originating from ancient Greece that has been brought back by the IOC and UN to promote peace and safety for all athletes competing. The Olympic Truce begins 7 days before the opening ceremony for the Olympics and 7 days after the closing ceremony of the Paralympics.
In 2026, the Olympics officially began on February 6th and ended on February 22nd. The Paralympics then commenced on March 6th and is due to end on March 15th. According to the timeline, this means that the Olympic Truce is still in place for another 12 days.
On 28th February 2026, Israel and the United States have released numerous strikes against Iran. These strikes have led to mass destruction to military bases alongside civilian casualties in Iran. As a counterattack, Iran has launched strikes against American and Israeli military bases in the region alongside strikes towards military and civilian locations in nearby Arab states where US forces are located. UK military bases in Qatar, Cyprus and Bahrain have also faced the retaliation and have been under attack.
These strikes occurred 22 days before the end of the Olympic Truce, meaning that the US and Israel have violated this truce. As of March 10th, 10 days after the start of these strikes, no consequences have been issued to either states by the IOC for the violation. The lack of response to the situation is intriguing compared to the response in the 2022 Olympics.
In February 2022, the IOC quickly responded after Russia invaded Ukraine with the support of Belarus. The IOC issued three official statements across four days following the invasion. On the 24th February, IOC strongly condemned the serious breach of the Olympic Truce by Russia and Belarus. On the 25th February, IOC EB urged International Federations to either cancel or relocate events that were planned to take place in Russia or Belarus. 3 days after on 28th February, IOC EB strongly recommended no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.
The lack of urgency to issue sanctions and repercussion to Israel and US is disappointing.
By Viktorija Yr12
Boston High School