Iran’s women’s national soccer team held a moment of silence during their country’s national anthem on Monday night before their first match of the Women’s Asian Cup against South Korea.
Before kickoff in their 3-0 group match against South Korea at the Gold Coast Stadium in Queensland, Australia, Iran’s players looked straight ahead as their national anthem blared through the stadium.
His silence came amid coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran that killed the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials on Saturday.
Iran retaliated by targeting US military bases and other diplomatic strongholds across the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
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Although most of those attacks were intercepted by air defenses, at least five deaths were reported as of Monday, three in the UAE and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran’s head coach Marjieh Jafari and his players did not comment on their silence, the war or Khamenei’s death.
Iranian players react from the bench during the Women’s Asia Cup soccer match between Iran and South Korea in Gold Coast, Australia, Monday, March 2, 2026.
Dave Hunt/AAPI image via AP
The team touched down in Australia several days before the ongoing strikes began and will play host nation Australia on Thursday before the final group stage match against the Philippines on Sunday.
Players from other countries have praised the courage of the Iranian women’s team.
“Our hearts go out to them and their families, it’s a tough situation and they’ve got really brave to be here and perform,” Australian midfielder Amy Sayer told The Guardian.
“He gave a really strong performance, even with the political climate that’s going on and the struggles that he’s going through,” he continued.
Sayer concluded, “Giving them the best game of football we can contribute (Thursday) that we can and show them respect on the field. Hopefully the situation will improve and they can stay safely in Australia.”
The conflict escalated further this week, with Israel sending new ground troops into Lebanon and explosions ringing in Tehran. Hundreds were killed, most in Iran.
The spiraling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end.
Trump said it would last four to five weeks, but said the US was ready to go further. He seemed open to the possibility of more extensive US military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.
– with files from the Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
(tags to translate)Iran
