Iran's World Cup team trains in US amid protests from diaspora

The Iranian national football team's training session near Los Angeles unfolded against a backdrop of geopolitical friction and divided loyalties. As players trained within the LA Galaxy stadium, a group of about fifty Iranian residents in California protested outside. Wielding flags predating the Islamic Revolution and holding photos of exiled monarch Reza Pahlavi, they declared the team did not represent the true Iranian people.

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This is not the national team of Iran, it is the national team of the Islamic Republic. You must be careful what you write.

"This is not the national team of Iran, it is the national team of the Islamic Republic," stated Bahar, a young woman who fled Tehran five years ago. She expressed strong disapproval, calling the players "emissaries of terrorists" and highlighting the ongoing repression of protests in Iran. Bahar drew a stark parallel, comparing the situation to Nazis competing under Israel's flag, representing the Jewish people.

Another protester, Nusha, 35, vowed to demonstrate outside the stadium before the match and to whistle during the national anthem. She dismissed any notion of a truce, stating, "You cannot deal with such butchers." The protesters' anger stems from the Islamic Republic's actions, particularly the recent crackdown on protests where many young Iranians were killed.

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We could never cheer for their goal or feel proud to see them enter the field. They are emissaries of terrorists. The true Iranian people are these.

Inside the stadium, a smaller contingent of supporters offered a different perspective. Gigi Godestani, a middle-aged woman, dismissed the protesters' views as out of touch with reality. "We are here to support our team. These guys deserve the cheers of their people. It doesn't matter what we went through to get here. Now we are here and we will win," she asserted.

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It is like the Nazis presented themselves at an international competition under Israel's flag, proclaiming that they represented the Jewish people. Islamists have been repressing and exterminating Iranians for decades: what are they doing here?

Farid Adibi, 25, born in the U.S. to Iranian parents, felt proud of the players. "They are not responsible for any political situation and should not pay for it," he argued, emphasizing his support for the team on the field, separate from the political climate.

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We will demonstrate in front of the stadium before the match. Some of us will enter with our flags to whistle the national anthem.