The Iran Judo Federation (IRIJF) was suspended by the IJF after Saeid Mollaei was ordered to withdraw from the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo to avoid facing an opponent from Israel.

An "indefinite" ban had originally been imposed before this was reduced to four years following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Under the sanctions, the IRIJF will remain banned as an IJF member until September 17 this year.

Vizer claimed the country had been "missed" at events over the past four years and confirmed that Iranian athletes would be eligible to return once the sanctions had ended.

"The sanction for Iran will finish in September," Vizer told insidethegames.

"They are welcome back.

"I hope they do their best to respect the rules and do not repeat the past inconvenient incidents.

"We miss them.

"We miss every nation that is not here.

"I hope to have better times in future.

"It was a hard decision [to impose the suspension] and we regret that this has affected the athletes and the judo community in Iran.

"It’s not their fault.

"We will see.

"They are open to participate and are welcome back."

The IJF sanctioned the IRIJF following threats allegedly levelled at Mollaei during the 2019 World Championships.

Mollaei, the defending world champion, could have faced Israel’s Sagi Muki at the event only to pull out before facing Russian Khasan Khalmurzaev in the third round.

The judoka alleged that he received a call from the Iranian First Deputy Minister of Sport, Davar Zani, ordering him to withdraw from the competition to avoid a potential contest between Iran and Israel.

He also claimed Zani made threats against him and his family.

Since the scandal in Tokyo, Mollaei has refused to return to Iran and instead sought asylum in Germany.

He also switched allegiances to Mongolia, representing that the re-arranged 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where he claimed a silver medal.

The IJF had initially given Iran an indefinite suspension, but this was lifted by the CAS after it was ruled to have no basis in the International Federation’s regulations.

It was then announced by the IJF in April 2021 that Iran had been hit with a four-year ban, starting from September 18 in 2019.

The IJF Disciplinary Commission concluded that there had been "repeated" and "very severe breaches" of the organisation’s status, ruling that the sanctions were "proportionate to the extremely severe offences committed by IRIJF".

Arash Miresmaeili was re-elected as head of the IRIJF in March this year despite being at the centre of the controversy which led to the organisation being suspended.

Last year, an audio file emerged which allegedly showed Miresmaeili instructing the coach of Mollaei to lose a bout.

The CAS were told that Mollaei had previously lost at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam and The Hague Grand Prix when he could have faced Israel’s Sagi Muki in 2018.

Mollaei enquired with the IJF about changing nationality in November 2018, a month prior to the judoka losing in his first round match to a Japanese athlete at the Guangzhou World Masters when in the same pool as Muki.

Mollaei again lost at the Paris Grand Slam in February 2019 when on course to face Muki, before winning a bronze medal, and he did not attend the medal ceremony.

Numerous other examples of Iranians refusing to compete against Israelis have since been recorded.

In February, the National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran was summoned to Lausanne for a warning from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

IOC President Thomas Bach told the body to ensure a "full observance" of the Olympic Charter after expressing "grave concerns" over the welfare of athletes amid anti-Government protests.

The policy of not allowing athletes to face Israelis was also among the IOC's concerns.