U.S. President Donald Trump has urged Australia to grant asylum to members of the Iran women’s national football team, warning that forcing them to return to Iran could put their lives at serious risk.
The appeal comes after Iran’s campaign at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 ended with three consecutive defeats. Iran lost 3–0 to South Korea women’s national football team on March 2, suffered a 4–0 defeat against hosts Australia women’s national soccer team on March 5, and were beaten 2–0 by the Philippines women’s national football team on March 8.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump called on Australian authorities to allow the players to remain in the country.
“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,” Trump wrote.
(@realDonaldTrump– Truth Social Post )
( Donald J. Trump – Mar 09 2026, 10:00 AM ET )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… pic.twitter.com/sNGvIcek9K
— Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) March 9, 2026
The development follows reports that five Iranian players left the team’s training camp in Australia and sought refuge, according to a statement released by the office of exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
The players named in the statement are Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.
According to the statement, the players have reached a safe location and declared their support for the “Lion and Sun Revolution”, an opposition movement linked to Iranian diaspora groups.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions in West Asia following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint military strikes by the United States and Israel on February 28. Several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic were also reportedly killed in the strikes.
In retaliation, Tehran launched counter-strikes targeting American military bases across Arab countries and Israeli assets in the region. Israel and the United States have continued strikes on Iranian targets, with the conflict also expanding to Lebanon, where Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups were targeted.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the country’s supreme leader, announced on Sunday the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late leader, as the new supreme leader.
The leadership transition marks a significant moment in Iran’s political history, making Mojtaba Khamenei the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic since the Iranian Revolution.