Iranian Protesters Unveil Plan to Target New Zealand’s Opening Game

Iran’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand on Monday night is set to unfold in a highly charged atmosphere, with anti-regime demonstrators in Los Angeles promising a hostile reception for the national team. The game comes amid heightened tensions caused by the war with the United States and after months of uncertainty over whether Iran would even take part in the tournament.

The Iranian squad and staff arrived in Los Angeles from Tijuana on Sunday under police escort and were taken to their team hotel, where a small protest had already gathered. Later, at the team’s open training session, opponents of the Iranian regime also turned up, chanting for Donald Trump to “finish the job.” Police stepped in after clashes broke out between rival groups.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian diaspora outside Iran, and for some in that community, the national team has become a symbol of the government rather than the people. Organizers say as many as 35,000 demonstrators could gather in and around SoFi Stadium, with plans to boo the Iranian national anthem and display pre-revolutionary flags despite FIFA restrictions.

It’s their problem. It is what it is – you don’t want it? You should not come. [We would rather] they lose.’ Some people are reportedly planning to wear lion-and-sun T-shirts and wave the country’s flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest at Tehran’s deadly crackdown on dissent earlier this year, when thousands were killed. There are fears that chaos could envelop SoFi Stadium and opponents of the regime know they could provoke a furious reaction from government supporters. ‘Anything is possible,’ one said.

‘They’re going to get very mad because there’s going to be a lot of us… so they might get very angry, and very anxious.’ Some people have argued that the players are simply young men doing their jobs in difficult circumstances. But the protestor insisted: ‘From their actions, they show that they’re not the supporters of the Iranian people. ‘They’re a propaganda [arm] of the Islamic regime who are terrorists… they could have not played for them. They choose to do it, they’re in this mess right now.’ Iran’s second World Cup game, against Belgium, will also take place in Los Angeles before a clash with Egypt in Seattle.

Protests are expected to follow the team north to Washington, with opponents of the regime even set to come down from across the Canadian border to make their voices heard. On Sunday, nearly four months after the US and Israel attacked Iran – killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – protestors chanted for President Trump to ‘finish the job’ and branded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ‘terrorists.’ An estimated 230,000 Iranian-Americans live around LA, with one area – nicknamed ‘Tehrangeles’ – filled with families of those who fled following the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s.

During a press conference on Friday, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei insisted his and his players’ focus would not be on what is going on in the stands. ‘We don’t pay attention to any of the hype and anything that goes on around us,’ Ghalenoei said, insisting his team are here simply to ‘represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or the Iranian diaspora.’ Ghalenoei added: ‘We are not political people… football is separate from politics.’ Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been fraught with uncertainty and conflict ever since war broke out with the US and Israel.

The team moved its training base to Mexico from Arizona, while some key officials have been denied visas. US officials said visas had been issued to all players and ‘necessary support staff’ but that Iran could not ‘abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.’ President Trump announced a peace deal Sunday but the Iran bus arrived at the team hotel under police escort, with drones and dogs and surveillance systems in place. The hotel is a 15-minute drive from LAX airport and at least one person was escorted from near the entrance by police.