Trump praises Australia for aiding Iran women’s soccer team amid asylum calls

US President Donald Trump thanked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday for helping members of the Iranian women’s soccer team following reports that the athletes had sought asylum amid threats from the Iranian government.

Trump said in a Truth Social post that five members of the team "have already been taken care of" and that others soon would be as well, without elaborating.

Earlier on Monday, Trump urged Albanese to grant asylum to the team, saying they would “most likely be killed” if they returned to Iran and offering to take them in the United States if Australia declined.

“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,” said Trump. “Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won’t.” 

There was no immediate response from Albanese to either of Trump's posts.

Australian authorities have not directly commented on whether the athletes, some of whom have reportedly sought asylum, will be allowed to stay in Australia after their participation in a recent tournament. Foreign Minister Penny Wong was asked by the state broadcaster ABC on Sunday if it was safe for the players to return home, but she did not directly answer the question. 

“We stand in solidarity with the men and women of Iran and particularly Iranian women and girls. I don't want to get into commentary about the Iranian women's team,” she said. 

The minister declined to say whether the Australian government has had contact with members of the team without Iranian officials present.  

Background: The Iranian women’s soccer team left for Australia on Feb. 24, according to the semiofficial Tehran Times, just four days before the US and Israel began their strikes on the country. The team participated in the Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s Asian Cup, which began in Australia earlier this month. 

Iran was eliminated from contention in the group stage on Sunday after a 2-0 loss to the Philippines. The Iranian side had already lost its other two group-stage matches and thus failed to advance to the next round.

On Monday, local media reported that five members of the team fled their handlers at the hotel where they were staying in the Gold Coast region. The five are now seeking asylum and are under police protection, according to the reports. 

The team’s stay in Australia has been mired in controversy surrounding the war and threats to the players. On March 2, the squad declined to sing the Iranian national anthem before their match against South Korea. Three days later, however, they sang the anthem before their game against Australia and the state-run Press TV broadcast footage of the team saluting the Iranian military. 

The change sparked concern among rights activists in Australia that the women had been “coerced” by government officials, Reuters reported. The players likewise sang the anthem on Sunday before their match against the Philippines. 

The players have been threatened over the anthem row, and state television presenter Mohammad Reza Shahbazi called the players “wartime traitors” last week. Shahbazi added that the players should be dealt with “severely” for their actions. 

Calls for Canberra to protect the athletes are growing, and the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Monday that members of the Iranian diaspora in the country are urging the government to meet with the players and explain their options to remain in Australia. 

Reza Pahlavi, son of the last shah of Iran and a prominent member of the opposition, called on Australia on Sunday to ensure the safety of the team, saying the players “are under significant pressure and ongoing threat from the Islamic Republic” in an X post.

Know more: The Iranian government is seeking to reassert control throughout the country amid the war, setting up checkpoints, deploying security forces and streaming war propaganda in an effort to prevent regime collapse, Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Tehran reported on Saturday.

Iran faced major antigovernment protests and riots in January before a crackdown largely quashed the unrest. More than 7,000 people were killed in the demonstrations, most of them protesters, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.