One of the seven women who received visas has reversed her decision after speaking to teammates, minister says
5 hours ago
Katy Watson & Simon Atkinson,On the Gold Coastand
Ben Hatton
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Australia says one of the two members of the Iranian football group who had earlier accepted an offer to stay in the country has changed her mind.
"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," Immigration Minister Tony Burke told parliament on Wednesday.
The remaining Iranian players left Australia on Tuesday night local time - two days after they were knocked out of the Asian Cup.
"In Australia people are able to change their mind. We respect the context in which she had made that decision," Burke said.
"Unfortunately, in making that decision, she'd been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and to get collected."
He said as a result it meant the Iranian embassy knew the location of the other Iranians who had elected to stay.
"I immediately gave the instruction for people to be moved, and that's been dealt with immediately," Burke said.
He said officials had made sure "that this was her decision, and every question you would want asked, was asked."
Some members of the Iranian football delegation had been granted asylum after concerns about the team's safety when they did not sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea last week.
Two other members of the team – player Mohaddeseh Zolfi and support staff member Zahra Soltan Meshkeh Kar – were later separated from the rest of the squad at their hotel on the Gold Coast, after indicating they would like to remain. They were then taken to a police facility in Brisbane, Burke had said previously.
All the women who stayed were to be fast-tracked to permanent residency, Burke said.
The offer to stay was reiterated to "most" of the remainder of the delegation at Sydney Airport before they were due to leave the country on Tuesday night, he continued.
Burke said a "very significant" police presence at Sydney Airport ensured players were separated from minders while they talked to officials one-on-one through a translator, and were given the chance to call family.
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None of them chose to accept the offer to stay, Burke said, but he added that one person got on the plane "quite late" after conversations with family.
"That individual made their own decision," Burke said – noting that there had been no pressure on them to take the flight.
He added a small number of the travelling group were not invited to stay – thought to be a reference to be Iranian government minders.
"There are some leaving Australia who I am glad are not in Australia," he said.
The team arrived at Sydney Airport from the Gold Coast, where the Asia Cup is being held, on Tuesday evening. Members of the Australian-Iranian community gathered there to support them and to protest against them returning to Iran.
They said some members of the team had signalled for help.
Burke, quoted by the ABC, said Border Force officials had made "multiple representations to the team" before they left Sydney, "including private meetings".
Local media reported that at least one person refused to board their later flight to Malaysia on their way back to Iran.
But some of the players - who were accompanied by chaperones - reportedly told reporters that they wanted to go back to Iran.
Australia's humanitarian visa programme grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need. Visa holders can live, work and study in the country.
It is not known what repercussions the team and their families might face in Iran after the players refused to sing the national anthem.
One conservative commentator on Iranian state media accused them of being "wartime traitors" and called for a harsh punishment.
The team did sing the anthem in their last two games before they were eliminated on Sunday, leading critics to believe they had been forced to take part by government officials accompanying them during the tournament as part of the delegation.
Earlier on Tuesday, a bus carrying team members was temporarily blocked by activists as it left their hotel on the Gold Coast. Some carried the Lion and Sun flag, which served as the official state flag before the Islamic revolution in Iran.
Meanwhile, the five who were first granted humanitarian visas were moved to a safe location by police.
Burke named them as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
Shortly after they left, the BBC witnessed some of their minders running across the hotel to try to find them.
"They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe," Burke said, adding that talks with them had been going on over several days.
Addressing the other team members before they left Australia, he said: "The same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women's soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia."
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"Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference on Tuesday.
"They're safe here, and they should feel at home here."
The Iranian players' situation has also come to the attention of US President Donald Trump, who took to his Truth Social platform to demand action.
He said Australia should "give asylum" to the women or "the US will take them if you won't."
Around an hour later, Trump posted again to say he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, writing: "five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way".
The Trump administration put all asylum decisions on hold at the end of last year, and has stopped issuing immigrant visas for citizens from dozens of countries including Iran. It has said the administration wants to bring "an end to the abuse" of the system.
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