Iran’s nationwide soccer group faces retribution within the Islamic Republic after arising brief in Tuesday’s showdown against the United States, experts informed The Post.
Mike Baker, a former CIA covert operations officer, mentioned the Iranian gamers are caught in an “untenable position” after their much-hyped match against the United States, which defeated Iran 1-0 to advance to the knockout spherical of 16.
“Given what we’ve seen from the Iranian regime … they’ve shown themselves to be brutal and there’s no reason to believe they’re going to suddenly become rational,” Baker mentioned.
In their opening match against England final week, Iran’s gamers declined to sing their nationwide anthem in an obvious protest over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly overwhelmed in police custody for failing to correctly put on a hijab in September.
And though Iran’s gamers sang their nationwide anthem Tuesday, a win against the US would have helped ease their prior transgression, Baker mentioned.
“The regime would have used them for their own purposes,” Baker informed The Post. “They would have spent all the focus on the victory, defeating ‘The Great Satan’ or whatever clever phrases they come up with.”
On Monday, CNN reported that households of the Iranian group have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the gamers did not “behave” earlier than their match against the US. Iranian gamers have been compelled to fulfill with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps after demonstrating earlier than the England recreation, the report added.
Elnaz Rekavi, an Iranian rock climber, is reportedly beneath home arrest in her residence nation for competing overseas in October with no obligatory hijab — which many perceived as a gesture of help for Amini. Rekabi, 33, was threatened with the seizure of her household’s property except she made a “forced apology,” according to reports.
Now, the Iranian group may face fines and even arrest within the wake of Tuesday’s defeat as soon as they arrive residence — as retaliation for his or her disloyalty and their failure to beat the enemy, Baker mentioned.
“Neither is good if you’re an Iranian player upon returning home,” he added.
The Iranian gamers endured a “tremendous amount of pressure” previous to the sport, together with criticism from protesters in Iran who consider they haven’t been vocal sufficient against the regime, in line with Baker, who now works as CEO at Portman Square Group, a world intelligence agency.
Iran has been rocked by livid anti-government protests since Amini’s loss of life. As of Monday, 451 protesters have died throughout clashes with authorities, together with 64 kids, according to nonprofit group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Iran’s ruling clerics are singularly centered on ending the rampant unrest that has erupted in 157 cities throughout the nation since mid-September.
The Iranian gamers may probably defect to different nations, though that isn’t doubtless as leaving family behind could be particularly tough, Baker mentioned.
“It’s hard to put ourselves in that position,” he continued. “You’re putting your family and friends at risk when you do that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of the players have been thinking about it.”
Kenneth R. Timmerman, an writer and Iran skilled, mentioned the destiny of the Iranian gamers had already been determined previous to Tuesday’s match, “because they’ve already committed that sin” of not singing the anthem.
“I would be afraid of arrest,” Timmerman mentioned. “Even if they had won, they would have been arrested, soundly beaten and warned, ‘Don’t ever do this again.’”
Fatemeh Aman, a fellow on the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based suppose tank, mentioned she didn’t consider Iran’s group will face any sort of retribution after Tuesday’s loss. That could have been totally different if one or two gamers had refused to sing the anthem previous to the US match, however she believes the group’s unity, all singing collectively, will shield them.
“You can’t arrest the entire national team at the same time, you can’t do that,” Aman mentioned.
However, if any single participant is deemed to be supportive of the demonstrations in Iran, he may see his passport confiscated or face potential fines, Aman mentioned.
“I think the Iranians feel sorry for them,” Aman mentioned of the nationwide group. “They are in a really, really hard position, a really bad position.”
