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President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to the Australian government on Monday as the Iranian women’s soccer team is expected to return home after the Women’s Asian Cup.
The team faces uncertainty as war broke out while they were in Australia for the tournament. Amid concerns over player welfare, the Australian-Iranian Council has written to Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, urging the government to protect team members during their stay in the country.
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Iranian players react during their national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Dave Hunt/AAP Image via AP)
Trump chimed in with an article on Truth Social.
“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian women’s national football team to be forcibly returned to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” he wrote. “Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The United States will take them if you don’t.”
Matt Thistlethwaite, Australia’s deputy minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, was asked whether the country would grant asylum to Iranian players, but said the government could not “go into individual circumstances for privacy reasons”.
Five Iranian footballers reportedly defected with the help of the police.
IRANIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER FANS SHOW SUPPORT FOR TRUMP AS TEAM APPEARS TO PIVOT ON POSITION FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM
Iranian fans wave flags during the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Dave Hunt/AAPImage via AP)
The team arrived in Australia before Israel and the United States launched a joint offensive against Iran on February 28. The strikes led to the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iranian players refused to sing their national anthem before the defeat to South Korea last Monday, in what was seen by some as an act of resistance, described by one Iranian commentator as “the height of dishonor.”
The team did not specify. But the players sang the anthem and saluted before their defeats to Australia and the Philippines.
The Australian-Iranian Council has launched an online petition urging Australian authorities to “ensure that no member of the Iranian women’s national football team leaves Australia while credible fears about their safety remain”.
“When there is credible evidence that visiting athletes risk persecution, imprisonment, coercion or worse upon their return, silence is not a neutral position,” the petition states. “The current war environment has intensified the repression, fear and risks faced by anyone publicly perceived by the Islamic Republic to be disloyal. »
Iranian fans display signs expressing support for U.S. President Donald Trump during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 soccer match between Iran and Australia in Gold Coast, Australia, March 5, 2026. (Izhar Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
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Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari reportedly told Australia’s national news agency that the team wanted to “return to Iran as soon as possible.”
