The Iranian women’s soccer team returned from the Asia Cup on March 19. Upon their arrival, they faced a tense atmosphere at home, marred by the specter of war and the potential repercussions for actions perceived as dissent during their trip.
In the aftermath, the regime, preoccupied with the considerable setbacks inflicted on its military, naval, drone, and nuclear capabilities by U.S. forces, has largely left the team undisturbed. However, sources indicate that the players remain under close scrutiny.
“They seem to be doing okay,” a source who has been in contact with most of the team members shared with The Post earlier this week.
With a ceasefire now in place, the players have resumed their normal activities, attending training sessions and visiting coffee shops. They are active on social media but exercise caution in their posts.
Despite this apparent normalcy, a defector warns that the regime, notorious for executing dissenting athletes even after the conflict began on February 28, will continue to monitor and exert pressure on the team and their families.
“I doubt anyone truly believes their lives have returned to normal,” said Zohreh Abdollahkhani, a former Iranian ice climbing team member. Now in exile, she founded Human Rights for Sport, an organization based in Oslo.
“We can anticipate that every sort of communication is monitored and that male members of their families are being pressured. That is what has happened in the past, and it’s likely happening now.”
The Iranian womenâs team trip to the Asian Football Federation’s Cup in Australia got off to a controversial start when members did not sing their national anthem at their opening match against South Korea March 2. The refusal was widely seen as an act of solidarity with victims of government repression and led the Iranian state broadcaster to initially brand the athletes, known as the Lionesses, as “wartime traitors” to the country.
Following their elimination in three games, five members of the squad claimed asylum and were granted humanitarian visas by Australia. Later, a sixth team member and a staff member also claimed asylum, bringing the total to seven.
However, by the time the team left Australia on March 10, five of those granted asylum reversed course and returned to Iran. They changed their minds when the regime threatened their families in Iran, according to the Postâs source.
The two women who stayed in Australia, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, are now settling into new lives but not yet ready to speak publicly, sources linked to them told The Post.
Only one interview has been given since the team landed back in Iran, when two members of the team spoke to Doha-based news outlet Al Jazeera on April 3.
Team member Mona Hamoudi said they had all been put under pressure by anti-regime dissidents in Australia, from the moment they arrived, who all pressured them to take a stand against the Iranian government.
âThis dilemma caused me constant anxiety, because every choice carried consequences â for my life, for my family, and for my sporting future,â Hamoudi told Al Jazeera. âI became more aware of the social and political pressures around me, and I realized the value of family support and national commitment in facing crisesâ.
Zahra Sarbali, a midfielder who also withdrew her asylum claim, decried the âharassment and constant following from media and social media, the expectations, the pressure from the Iranian-Australian community.â
When the team arrived back in Iran they received a hero’s welcome, shown in videos published by Al Jazeera of them receiving flowers while huge crowds cheered and waved the nationâs flag.
But opponents of the regime say the women and their families will be under constant surveillance and pressure, especially as they train for their next matches.
Abdollakhani â whose nonprofit documents abuse of Iranian athletes by the regime â highlighted the detention of Benyamin Naghdi, a 26-year-old kickboxing champion. He is at “imminent” risk of execution for resisting arrest during anti-government protests earlier this year, she said.
Naghdi’s “forced” confession was broadcast on Iranian television and his family was told to pick up his belongings from prison, Abdollakhani told The Post Thursday.
Despite the two-week ceasefire brokered by President Trump this week, Abdollahkhani doesn’t believe it will have any effect on jailed sports heroes, who face torture and death.
“The ceasefire is between Israel, Iran and the US,” she said. “It is not between the Iranian people and the Islamic regime.”
Last month, Iranian officials executed 19-year-old wrestler Saleh Mohammadi in a public hanging. More than 200 Iranian athletes have been killed as a result of taking part in anti-government demonstrations this year, according to Abdollakhani.
