President Donald Trump on Monday successfully urged Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese to grant the Iranian women’s soccer team diplomatic protection after the hardline regime branded them "wartime traitors" for refusing to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem during a game last week.
Trump initially said Australia would be "making a terrible humanitarian mistake" if it forced the players to return to Iran after their act of defiance against the regime. The players, he said, would "most likely be killed" and he urged Albanese to grant them asylum.
Trump also pledged that the United States would welcome the players if Australia did not allow them to stay. It was initially unclear whether the Australian government would offer the team asylum. Matt Thistlethwaite, assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade, said earlier on Monday that the government could not "go into individual circumstances for privacy reasons," according to the Times of Israel. The Australian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department directed inquiries to the White House, which referred the Washington Free Beacon to Trump's Truth Social posts.
Two hours later, Trump announced that he held a phone call with Albanese and confirmed that five players had "already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way." He noted, though, that others on the team are choosing to return to Iran "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 in a post on Truth Social. "God bless Australia!"
The 25-player soccer team drew Tehran’s ire last week after its members stood silent on the field as the Islamic Republic’s anthem played, an act of rebellion against the hardline Iranian regime during its military conflict with the United States and Israel. The players who return home will likely face repercussions from the regime, which on Sunday appointed the late Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as its next supreme leader.
The Islamic Republic has a history of imprisoning and even executing athletes who protest against its government. The regime tortured and executed prominent wrestler Navid Afkari in 2020 after he participated in anti-government protests in 2018 and did the same to karate champion Mohammad Mehdi Karami, who took part in the 2022 wave of demonstrations, in 2023. The regime also sentenced soccer player Amir Reza Nasr Azadani to death for participating in those protests.
The regime reportedly forced the women’s soccer team to reverse course and sing the national anthem before matches on Thursday and Saturday. Several players were seen flashing the international signal for "help" from their bus over the weekend, suggesting they faced imminent danger. Supporters rallied around the team’s bus after a loss on Sunday, shouting, "Save our girls."
Five members of the team have fled their hotel in Australia and have received shelter from police, CNN reported Monday, while others may follow suit after Trump’s intervention.
Trump last month faced criticism from opponents who accused him of being anti-woman after he joked about reluctantly inviting the U.S. women’s hockey team to join the men’s team at the White House after both won Olympic gold medals. The men’s team did attend a celebration at the White House, while the women’s team declined the president’s invitation.
