On Monday, President Donald Trump turned to social media to advocate for the safety of Iran’s national women’s soccer team, warning that players would “most likely be killed” if forced to return to Iran after remaining silent during their country’s national anthem at the Asian Cup.
In a Truth Social post, the President stated he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese—whose nation hosted the tournament—after publicly pushing Australia to safeguard the Iranian players.
“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it!” Trump said. “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,” Trump continued. “God bless Australia!”
Earlier that Monday morning, Trump was more critical of Australia’s government, suggesting it wasn’t doing enough to protect the Iranian team—and pledged the U.S. would take in the players if Australia denied them asylum.
“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,” Trump said in an earlier Truth Social post. “Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t.”
The soccer team traveled to Australia last month for the Women’s Asian Cup. On Sunday, the squad lost its final group match against the Philippines, meaning it wouldn’t advance in the championship and would depart the country. According to The Associated Press, team head coach Marziyeh Jafari told the Australian Associated Press that squad members “want to come back to Iran as soon as we can.”
But The Athletic reported five team members have defected and are in a safe house under Australian Federal Police supervision. Per anonymous sources with knowledge of the operation who spoke to The Athletic, Australian authorities helped the five players leave their hotel on Monday, following the team’s loss to the Philippines.
Iran and the surrounding region have been engulfed in war since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched a wave of military strikes against Iran. Last week, the Iranian women’s soccer team stayed silent as their national anthem played before their opening match against South Korea. Iranian state media criticized the players for the move, calling them “wartime traitors,” per The Athletic. The squad didn’t specify why they remained silent during the anthem, and sang it in their next two games.
The criticism over their anthem silence sparked safety concerns for the players. The Australian Iranian Council launched an online petition, which had over 74,000 signatures as of Monday, urging Australian officials to “ensure that no member of Iran’s women’s national football team is to depart Australia while credible fears for their safety remain” and “ensure that any player wishing to seek protection can do so safely, privately, and without interference from regime-associated officials or handlers.”
“Where credible evidence exists that visiting athletes may face persecution, imprisonment, coercion, or worse upon return, silence is not a neutral position,” the petition reads. “The current wartime environment has intensified repression, fear, and the risks faced by anyone publicly perceived by the Islamic Republic as disloyal and a ‘traitor.’”