Update - 12:45 pm Eastern:
President Trump has now posted this update regarding the status of the soccer players and his discussion with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
https://t.co/aMgVjVIbU4 pic.twitter.com/qjNoetFXIx
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 9, 2026
I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return. In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Original story:
It was just last week that we reported on the brave women soccer players from the Iranian squad who refused to sing the anthem of the Islamic Republic ahead of a match they were playing on Australia's Gold Coast. Now, it's being reported that five members of the squad have fled their hotel in fear and are now in the custody of Australian law enforcement as they seek asylum.
An X account associated with Reza Pahlavi, an exiled Iranian dissident whose late father was the last Shah of Iran, revealed Monday morning that the five women – identified as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi – successfully separated from the team training camp and have now joined "the national revolution of Iran's Lion and Sun."
به اطلاع هممیهنان و رسانهها میرسانیم که پنج بازیکن تیم ملی فوتبال زنان ایران به نامهای فاطمه پسندیده، زهرا قنبری، زهرا سربالی، عاطفه رمضانیزاده، و مونا حمودی موفق شدند با ترک اردوی تیم به کشور استرالیا پناهنده شوند. این پنج ورزشکار که هماکنون در مکانی امن هستند، پیوستن خود… pic.twitter.com/fRx7t63HVV
— Reza Pahlavi Communications (@PahlaviComms) March 9, 2026
We inform our compatriots and the media that five players from Iran's women's national football team, named Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi, have successfully sought refuge in Australia by leaving the team's training camp. These five athletes, who are currently in a safe location, have announced their joining of the national revolution of Iran's Lion and Sun.
While the joint military action by the United States and Israel has been raging in Iran for the last ten days, the soccer team has been in Australia participating in the Women’s Asian Cup. They defiantly refused to participate in the singing of their country's national anthem before a match last Monday, despite calls from Tehran demanding unity in the wake of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's demise during a strike on his presidential compound.
READ MORE: Iranian Women’s Soccer Team Chooses Silence As Tehran Demands Unity
BREAKING: Mojtaba Khameinei Named Iran's Supreme Leader
Here's RedState's Ben Smith on their protest:
Iran does not leave messaging to chance when national representatives are overseas. Athletes have faced scrutiny for far less than visible dissent, and female athletes operate under especially rigid religious and state oversight.
Inside the stadium, another image complicated the picture.
There was also a group of Iranian supporters at the game flying the pre-Islamic Revolutionary flag featuring the golden lion and sun.
The anthem echoed. Opposition-era imagery appeared in the stands. The national team stood silent.
As Ben notes in his article, the Iranian regime is known to impose tight control on their athletes when they are participating in overseas tournaments, which makes the successful escape of the five women players from their handlers that much more impressive. They are reportedly now in custody of police in Queensland, and are seeking asylum over fears they would be prosecuted, or worse, for their anthem defiance if they return to Iran.
Hadi Karimi, a Brisbane-based human rights activist with knowledge of the situation, said, "Police have taken them somewhere safe. It’s great, it’s amazing."
President Trump weighed in on asylum for the entire team after reports emerged that senior Iranian officials were threatening to kill members of the squad for their refusal to sing the anthem. The president posted "ASYLUM!" to Truth Social and demanded Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese give safe shelter to all of the players.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 9, 2026
Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
If Australia fails to act, President Trump said the U.S. would give the players asylum.
This is a developing story. Be sure to stick with RedState for all the latest on Iran.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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