One of the Iranian women’s soccer team members granted asylum in Australia changed her mind at the last moment and boarded a plane back to the war-torn Islamic Republic, officials said Wednesday.
Striker Mohaddeseh Zolfi, 21, and support staffer Zahra Solton Moshehkar had both joined five others in accepting an offer to stay in safety Down Under, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced in parliament Wednesday.
But “one of the two who had made the decision to stay last night had spoken to some of the teammates who had left, and had changed her mind,” Burke said, without specifying which of the two it was.
“In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel,” he added. “And so, we respect the context in which she has made that decision.”
However, the team member who changed their mind contacted the Iranian embassy — revealing the secret safe space where all of them were staying, it was revealed.
The five players already granted asylum — Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi — were forced to move to a new, safe place.
Iran has accused Australia of taking its athletes “hostage” after the team member’s sudden about-face.
“They slaughtered more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap Tomahawk attack in the city of Minab, and now they want to take our athletes hostage in the name of ‘saving’ them?” Esmail Baghaei Hamaneh, an Iranian diplomat and current Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, posted online. “The audacity and hypocrisy are staggering.”
“To Iran’s Women’s football team: don’t worry — Iran awaits you with open arms. Come home.”
The Iranian players requested help from the Australian government to remain in the country after their refusal to sing the national anthem at an Asia Cup match last week sparked backlash, just as war erupted with the US and Israel.
Iranian state media branded them “wartime traitors.”
Australian officials separated team members and staffers from their security at the Sydney airport and offered them a chance to claim asylum in Australia before they boarded their flight back to Iran.
Many players asked whether their families would be able to leave Iran and join them if they chose to stay, Burke told reporters in Canberra.
“Obviously, when people are permanent residents, there are rights that they have in terms of sponsoring other family members. But all of it only becomes relevant if people can get out of Iran in the first place,” he said.
The players and staff that left have since landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before departing for Iran.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the tournament started just as the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They were eliminated from the tournament on Sunday.
With Post Wires
