Australia's home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed that three more members of the Iranian women's football delegation have decided to return home after initially seeking asylum in Australia.
The trio, named as Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, Mona Hamoudi, and Zahra Sarbali by human rights activists, were given humanitarian visas to stay in Australia. According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-linked Tasnim News Agency, they are on their way to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to join the rest of the squad.
As reported by the Tasnim News Agency, the three women had resisted "psychological warfare, extensive propaganda and seductive offers" and were "returning to the warm embrace of their families and homeland after withdrawing their asylum application in Australia".
Background
Concerns grew for the Iranian team after they were silent for the country's anthem in their opening Asian Cup match against South Korea on 2 March, which led to them being branded "war traitors" in Iran.
Iran's sports ministry confirmed the news in a statement, saying "the national spirit and patriotism of the Iranian women's national football team defeated the enemy's plans against this team". The statement also accused Australia's government of "playing in Trump's field".
Government Response
Tony Burke stated, "Australians should be proud that it was in our country that these women experienced a nation presenting them with genuine choices and interacted with authorities seeking to help them". He added, "While the Australian government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions".
With these latest developments, only three of the seven who initially sought to stay in Australia remain as defectors. The remaining Iranian players left Australia on Tuesday night local time, two days after they were knocked out of the Asian Cup.
