Australia and U.S. back Iranian women’s soccer players seeking asylum
Five players, who left the Iranian women’s football team on Monday after the last match of the Iranian women’s football team in the Asian Women’s Cup in Australia, applied for asylum with the Australian Federal Police. According to reports.
Police helped the women leave the hotel and placed them in a safe house.
According to sports journalist Raha PourbakhshAt least seven players left the team hotel and five sought asylum with the Australian Federal Police.
According to a x post According to Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, the actors who “successfully took refuge in Australia” are Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi.
Pahlavi I warned you in a separate article It was stated that the women would face “terrible consequences” if they returned to Iran.
PourbahshAn Iran International TV journalist told CNN that the families of three of the five players were threatened, and at least two other players who left the team hotel could not be located.
Set remained silent The Iranian national anthem, sung before Iran’s first Asian Cup match a week ago, was interpreted as a protest against the regime. After pushback from the Iranian government and accusations of treason, they saluted and sang the lyrics of the anthem quietly before the match against Australia.
Australia is apparently keen to help women who fear persecution at home. Following US-Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliation in the Middle East, Iranian state television called the football team “wartime traitors” and touched on the repercussions upon their return to the country.
Iran is now under the rule of new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Khamenei is the son of 86-year-old leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the US and Israeli attacks.
President Trump is a expression In the news published on Truth Social on Monday, it was stated that the USA would grant asylum to Iranian players if Australia did not grant it. Trump made a second post, saying that he met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, that five players were “already taken care of” and “the rest are on the way.”
Protesters gathered near the bus carrying the team after its final game on Sunday night, shouting “save our girls” and carrying the Iranian Lion flag used before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Today the flag is a symbol of resistance against the current regime.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the ABC her country stood with the men and women of Iran.
“For Australians to see [Iranian players] “I think it was a very evocative moment when the Matildas exchanged jerseys with them in Australia,” said Wong. “We know that this regime brutally oppresses many Iranian women, and we stand in solidarity with Iranian men and women, especially Iranian women and girls.”
