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Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke announced at a news conference Tuesday that another Iranian women’s soccer player and a team staffer have accepted asylum in Australia amid fear of punishment upon returning to Iran after five players accepted asylum on Sunday.
Burke added that almost all the Iranian players and many of the support staff were taken aside, individually, as they passed through Australian Customs at an airport before they boarded their flight back to Iran.
And they were each given the opportunity to accept an asylum offer without Iranian state officials present, but other players or staff accepted the offer to stay.
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The asylum bids came amid increased pressure from President Donald Trump Monday and Iranian groups in Australia.
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump later wrote, “I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team.
“He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return. In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!”
The team arrived in Australia before Israel and the U.S. launched a joint offensive against Iran Feb. 28. The strikes led to the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
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Iranian players refused to sing their national anthem before an opening loss to South Korea March 2, which was viewed by some as an act of resistance dubbed by an Iranian commentator to be the “pinnacle of dishonor.”
The team didn’t qualify, but the players sang the anthem and saluted before their losses to Australia and the Philippines.
“These women are tremendously popular in Australia, but we realize they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making,” Burke said. “The opportunity will continue to be there for them to talk to Australian officials if they wish to.”
The Australian Iranian Council launched an online petition urging Australian authorities to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain.
“Where credible evidence exists that visiting athletes may face persecution, imprisonment, coercion, or worse upon return, silence is not a neutral position,” the petition added. “The current wartime environment has intensified repression, fear, and the risks faced by anyone publicly perceived by the Islamic Republic as disloyal.”
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Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari was quoted as saying on Australia’s national news agency that the team wants “to come back to Iran as soon as we can.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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