| Host city | Tehran, Iran |
|---|---|
| Nations | 10 |
| Athletes | 850 |
| Events | 134 in 11 Sports |
| Opening | 19 November |
| Closing | 28 November |
| Opened by | President Mohammad Khatami |
| Torch lighter | Teymour Ghiasi |
| Main venue | Azadi Stadium |
| Website | WestAsianGames.com |
The 1st West Asian Games was held from 19 to 28 November 1997 in Tehran, Iran and had around 850 athletes and 236 team officials participating from 10 countries in 11 sports. Initially only men were allowed to participate.
The nations that participated were: Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Yemen.
The official sports programme contained athletics, aquatics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, judo, karate, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Athletics (22) ()
Badminton (3) ()
Basketball (1) ()
Boxing (12) ()
Fencing (6) ()
Football (1) ()
Judo (8) ()
Karate (11) ()
Shooting (14) ()
Swimming (16) ()
Table tennis (3) ()
Taekwondo (8) ()
Tennis (3) ()
Weightlifting (10) ()
Wrestling (16) ()* Host nation (Iran)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Iran (IRI)* | 63 | 37 | 56 | 156 |
| 2 |  Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) | 26 | 15 | 16 | 57 |
| 3 |  Syria (SYR) | 16 | 22 | 13 | 51 |
| 4 |  Kuwait (KUW) | 15 | 22 | 20 | 57 |
| 5 |  Turkmenistan (TKM) | 5 | 13 | 30 | 48 |
| 6 |  Tajikistan (TJK) | 3 | 11 | 19 | 33 |
| 7 |  Lebanon (LIB) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 |  Jordan (JOR) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 9 |  Qatar (QAT) | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 10 |  Yemen (YEM) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 134 | 133 | 170 | 437 | |