The son of the country’s late Shah insisted on Monday that Australia must protect the visiting Iranian women’s football team, warning if they refused to sing the national anthem before the match there would be “dire consequences”.
Iranian players refused to sing before an Asian Cup tournament match in Australia last week – widely seen as an act of defiance against the Islamic Republic.
US-born Reza Pahlavi has lent her voice to a growing chorus of calls for Australia to grant asylum to women, joining political figures, human rights activists and “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling.
“Members of the Iranian women’s national football team are under significant pressure and under ongoing threats from the Islamic Republic,” said Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah.
“I call on the Australian government to ensure their safety and give them all the support they need,” he said on social media.
Pahlavi, who did not return to Iran before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, has cast himself as the man leading a democratic transition to a secular Iran as the theocracy struggles to survive.
Read moreReza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, has established himself as an alternative to the regime
‘Save our daughters’
Iranian players refused to sing their anthem ahead of a match against South Korea, two days after the US and Israel started war against the country.
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In response, a commentator on Iranian state television branded them “wartime traitors”.
Crowds beat drums and chanted “regime change to Iran” as they gathered outside the Gold Coast stadium where the team played their last match at the weekend.
They then surrounded the Iranian team bus, chanting “Let them go” and “Save our girls”.
On Monday, AFP journalists saw team members talking on phones on the balcony of their hotel.
Canberra has so far declined to comment on whether the players could be granted asylum.
Asked about their case on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia “stands in solidarity” with the Iranian people.
A spokeswoman for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs told AFP it was “unable to comment on individuals’ circumstances”.
Amnesty International campaigner Zaki Haidari said they would face persecution or worse if sent home.
“Some of the members of this team have probably already threatened their families,” Haidari said.
“They will come back…who knows what kind of punishment they will receive?”
Despite increased surveillance, there will be a “small window of opportunity” to seek asylum at the airport, he said.
“Please save these young women,” author JK Rowling said in a post on social media.
Iran’s embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment.
(With FRANCE 24 AFP)
(Tags to be translated)Asia / Pacific
