Australia has granted humanitarian visas to five members of the Iranian women's football team, home affairs minister Tony Burke confirmed on Tuesday. The visas were issued early Tuesday morning, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offering further assistance to other players.
The five players, identified by Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi, have been taken to a secure location by Australian federal police. They were in Australia for the women's Asian Cup tournament and faced potential punishment upon returning to Iran after criticism for not singing the national anthem.
US President Donald Trump posted about the situation on social media, first criticising Australia then praising it after speaking to Mr Albanese. Mr Albanese described his conversation with Mr Trump as 'fairly lengthy', focusing on the Iranian team and wider world events.
Mr Burke said the visas provide a pathway to permanent residency, and urged other team members to come forward. 'They are safe here, and they should feel at home here,' he said. The Australian government indicated it would extend the same opportunity to any other players seeking assistance.
