MELBOURNE, Australia — A fifth member of the Iranian women’s soccer team who accepted a refugee visa to remain in Australia has departed the country, as confirmed by the Australian government on Monday local time.
The player’s exit just before midnight on Sunday leaves two of the original seven squad members still in Australia, according to the office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
The Iranian authorities have regarded the women’s decision to leave as a triumph against Australia and U.S. President Donald Trump. The Iranian community in Australia attributes this situation to pressure from Tehran.
Burke reported on Sunday that two players and a member of the support staff had departed Sydney for Malaysia on Saturday.
The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup last month, prior to the onset of the conflict in the Middle East on February 28.
Initially, six players and one support staff member from a squad of 26 accepted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia before the remaining Iranian contingent traveled from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on March 10.
Another player subsequently changed her mind and also left Australia.
The rest of the team has been in Kuala Lumpur since their departure from Australia.
Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite characterized the women’s situation in Australia as a “very complex situation.”
“We’ve been collaborating very closely with them, but clearly this is a very complex situation. These are deeply personal choices, and the government respects the decisions of those who have opted to return. We continue to provide support to the two who remain,” Thistlethwaite stated during an interview with Sky News.
“They are receiving all the assistance from the Australian government and the diaspora community to stay here and settle in Australia,” he added.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that after the three departed Australia on Saturday, they were “returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland.”
Concerns regarding the team’s safety in Iran increased when the players refrained from singing the Iranian national anthem prior to their first match.
The Australian government faced calls for assistance on behalf of the women from Iranian groups in Australia and from Trump.
The Iranian news agency labeled the women’s return to the team as the “disgraceful failure of the American-Australian project and another setback for Trump.”
Some members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia have accused the support staff member who initially accepted asylum and then left Australia on Saturday of disseminating Iranian government propaganda to her teammates through text messages.
Thistlethwaite stated that there was no evidence to support the claim that the staff member had influenced others to depart. He noted that all those who remained in Australia after the team’s departure were “genuine asylum seekers.”
Thistlethwaite mentioned that the women had been taken to an undisclosed “safe destination” once they decided to stay in Australia.
“They’ve been able to communicate with family and others. I understand that some of them did reach out to the Iranian embassy here in Australia. We cannot sever their communications,” Thistlethwaite explained.
The embassy in the national capital Canberra continues to be staffed, despite the Australian government expelling the ambassador last year.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese severed diplomatic relations with Iran in August after announcing that intelligence officials had determined that the Revolutionary Guard had orchestrated arson attacks on a Sydney kosher food company and Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in 2024.
Kambiz Razmara, vice-president of the Australian-Iranian Society of Victoria, stated that the women who accepted asylum had faced pressure from the Tehran regime.
“They’ve had to make decisions on the spur of the moment with very little information and have had to respond to the circumstances,” Razmara remarked. “I’m surprised that they’ve chosen to leave, but I also understand the pressures they are under.”
