listen to this article5 minutes
information
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that it will welcome Iranian female soccer players “with open arms” as they return home from their Asian Cup tour in Australia.
Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai urged players to “go home” on Tuesday, hours after five members of Iran’s national team applied for asylum in Australia after being eliminated from the tournament.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“Dear Iranian women’s soccer team, don’t worry. Iran is waiting with open arms,” Baghai wrote to X.
His post came shortly after Iranian prosecutors announced they would invite the remaining team members to the country “in peace and confidence.”
“These loved ones are invited to return to their homeland in peace and confidence, as well as address the concerns of their families,” the General Prosecutor’s Office said, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.
Australia’s decision to issue visas to five players comes amid uncertainty and concern for the team’s safety following the team’s decision to observe a moment of silence during the Iranian national anthem before the first match of the tournament on March 3.
The players sang the national anthem and saluted during the remaining two games, Thursday and Sunday, but fears grew that they would be disciplined upon their return.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a press conference on Monday that he told the five members that they were “welcome to Australia, that we are safe here and that they should feel at home.”
He added that he had offered other team members the opportunity to remain in Australia.
The Ministry of Interior named five members of the team: captain Zahra Gambari, midfielders Fatemeh Pasandide, Zahra Salbari Alisha, Mona Hammoudi and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh.
The players’ decision to observe a moment of silence during the Iranian national anthem before the match against South Korea was branded “the height of disgrace” by commentators on Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.
The announcement of visas for the players came after US President Donald Trump, who along with ally Israel is at war with Iran, spoke with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the “sensitive situation” facing the team, with Albanese saying he was “working on it”.
Iran’s Baghai questioned the US president’s claim that he had “rescued” the players and dismissed President Trump’s statement after new footage of the Feb. 28 attack on an Iranian elementary school in Minab that killed 165 students suggested the school grounds may have been hit by a Tomahawk missile, a US-used weapon that neither Israel nor Iran possesses.
The United States had previously blamed Iran for the attack.
“They massacred more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap tomahawk attack in Minab city, and now they are trying to take our athletes hostage in the name of ‘saving’ them?” Baghaei said.
Following the Australian government’s decision to issue humanitarian visas to five Iranian athletes, they were transferred to an undisclosed location under police protection, Australian authorities said, according to Reuters.
Iranian media quoted Iranian Football Federation Vice President for Women Affairs Farideh Shojaei as saying that the team left the hotel through the back door along with police.
“We contacted the embassy, the football federation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and everywhere else we could to find out what was going to happen,” she said.
“We have also spoken to the families of these five players.”
Some of the Iranian athletes left their hotels in the northeastern city of Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon on buses surrounded by members of the diaspora protesting against the Iranian government. They flew into Sydney Airport on Tuesday night and were then transferred to the international terminal.
It is unclear how many players have arrived at the airport or where they are headed.
President Trump initially appeared unaware that Australia had been in secret negotiations with the women for several days, posting on social media that Australia was making a “terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing the team to return.
President Trump said the team members “would probably be killed” if deported to Iran. “If you don’t respond, the United States will accept them,” he added.
In a later post, President Trump said he had spoken to the Albanians and said the Australian leader was “doing a very good job navigating this rather delicate situation.”
Iran’s General Prosecutor’s Office said: “Some members of our women’s soccer team, unintentionally and emotionally provoked by the intrigues and mischief of the enemy, acted in a way that aroused the delusional excitement of the criminal leaders of the imposed American-Zionist war.”
The US and Israeli attacks on Iran killed 1,255 people and injured 1,200 in the country in 11 days.
The Iranian government responded by firing waves of missiles and drones at several military bases in the Middle East where Israeli and U.S. forces operate.
