TEHRAN – Iran suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Belarus (25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 7-15) in the Ufa friendly tournament on Saturday.

Iran had previously lost 3-1 to Russia and defeated Cuba 3-0 in their opening two matches of the tournament.

Roberto Piazza’s side are using the tournament as part of their preparations for the 2026 Asian Games, where Iran have been drawn in Pool B alongside Indonesia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan.

The men’s volleyball tournament at the 2026 Asian Games will be the 20th edition of the event. It is organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) in conjunction with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

 It will be held in Aichi, Japan from 27 Sept. – 3 Oct.