Trump says US has ‘already won in many ways’ on Iran but ‘not enough’

The players – Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezani-Zadeh and Mona Hamoudi –left the team’s hotel in the city of Gold Coast and are currently in a safe location. The development comes after days of tension surrounding the team during an Asian tournament in Australia.

The issue caught the attention of President Donald Trump who posted twice on Truth Social on Monday — first after learning that the players were seeking asylum following threats from senior Iranian officials, who warned them of harsh punishment for refusing to sing the Islamic Republic’s anthem.

Later, Trump confirmed he had spoken with Australia’s Prime Minister.

“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team,” Trump wrote. “He’s on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way.”

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In a heartfelt post, Australia’s Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, shared photos with the football players on X and wrote that they are “welcome to stay in Australia to be safe and have a home here.”

The players were required to wear compulsory hijab during all public appearances while representing the national team.

Anthem protest triggered pressure and threats

The controversy surrounding the team began earlier in the tournament when members of the squad refused to sing the national anthem of the Islamic Republic before their first match against South Korea.

Images of the players and coaching staff standing silently during the anthem quickly spread on social media, with many interpreting the gesture as a protest against the government.

In their second match against Australia, however, the players were seen giving a military salute and singing the anthem after what reports described as threats and warnings from security officials accompanying the delegation.

An Iranian state television host later threatened the team on air, saying both the public and officials should treat them as “war-time traitors.”

Bus incident and support from Iranians abroad

Tensions escalated further after the team’s final match, when videos circulated online showing Iranians living in Australia attempting to stop the team bus as it left the stadium.

A witness told the Australian broadcaster SBS that several players had also remained seated on the field after the team’s final match against the Philippines and appeared reluctant to leave, raising concerns they were under pressure and did not want to return to Iran.

SBS earlier reported, citing two sources who visited the team’s hotel, that the players were under “very tight security measures” imposed by Iranian officials. The sources said authorities appeared concerned that some players might attempt to seek asylum.

Appeals for protection and uncertainty over return

The situation prompted appeals from activists and opposition figures who warned the players could face serious consequences if they return to Iran.

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote on X that members of Iran’s women’s national football team were under significant pressure and ongoing threats from the Islamic Republic because of their refusal to sing the anthem, urging the Australian government to ensure their safety and provide support.

Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad also called on Australia to protect the players, saying they faced potential danger if returned to Iran.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Iranian authorities had a record of harsh repression.

“We know this regime has brutally murdered many of its own people. We know this regime has brutally oppressed many Iranian women, and we stand in solidarity with the men and women of Iran, particularly Iranian women and girls,” she added.

Meanwhile, Iranian football officials say the team’s return has been complicated after flights back to Iran were canceled following recent regional tensions. Farideh Shojaei, head of the women’s team delegation, said officials are exploring alternative routes for the team’s return.

According to Shojaei, Iranian football authorities have been in talks with airlines and other officials to arrange a new travel route. Some federation officials have reportedly traveled to Turkey to coordinate possible transit arrangements, raising the possibility that the team could be flown to Turkey and then transported overland by bus to Iran.

Iran’s women’s national football team, which had traveled to Australia to compete in the tournament, was eventually eliminated from the competition. It remains unclear when the remaining members of the team will leave Australia.

Eyewitnesses are reporting a massive wave of airstrikes targeting several areas of Karaj, west of Tehran, amid state media reports of explosions.

Several fighter jets were also spotted in Tehran’s airspace by viewers of Iran International.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told state television that several countries, including France, China, and Russia have contacted Iran about a possible ceasefire.

He said the final decision rests with Tehran after what he described as a “blatant aggression” against the country.

He said Iran’s enemies “must pay the price" for killing the country’s supreme leader.

Australia’s home affairs minister said members of Iran’s women’s football team can stay in Australia, adding that the five players who have already sought asylum will receive humanitarian visas.

"Last night I was able to tell five women from the Iranian Women’s Soccer team that they are welcome to stay in Australia, to be safe and have a home here," Tony Burke said on X.

The players were required to wear compulsory hijab during all public appearances while representing the national team.

But trauma specialists say those reactions reflect something deeper: decades of repression that have fundamentally shaped how many Iranians perceive danger. For many inside the country, the regime itself—not the bombs—has long been the most immediate threat to their lives.

The discussion gained attention after a viral Instagram reel by Iranian-origin actor and producer Tara Grammy. In the video, Grammy recounts a conversation a friend in Iran said they had with their therapist—a moment that appeared to capture what many Iranians had already been expressing online.

According to Grammy, her friend admitted they found themselves celebrating the sound of bombs hitting Tehran—something that surprised even them. The therapist’s explanation, she said, was psychological.

“When your entire life you have lived under the constant threat of the Islamic Republic—arrests, prison, executions, morality police, surveillance, people disappearing after exercising their right to protest—your brain learns to fear the thing that actually controls your life,” Grammy said in the video.

“Psychologists call this threat normalization.”

The concept describes how people living under long-term repression can come to see the greatest danger not as an external threat such as war, but the authority that controls their daily lives.

To better understand the reaction, Iran International spoke with two therapists who work with Iranians affected by political repression and trauma.

Clinical psychotherapist Azadeh Afsahi, founder of Iran House, an NGO in contact with political prisoners inside Iran, said many reactions seen online cannot be understood without recognizing the depth of suffering many Iranians have endured.

“I think what we need to look at is the big picture: why is it that a nation is celebrating what the whole world fears—bombs?” Afsahi said.

“For them, the bomb can feel like a form of liberation, as sad as that sounds. For 47 years they have lived under oppression without meaningful help.”

Afsahi said many Iranians understand the risks and potential loss of life associated with conflict. But for some, the possibility that the Islamic Republic could finally fall outweighs those fears.

According to Afsahi, many messages she has received from inside Iran reflect a mix of fear, anxiety and renewed hope. After recent crackdowns and mass killings during protests, she said many Iranians had fallen into what she described as a “collective depression.”

“Right now, despite their houses being bombed and loved ones being killed, there is still an element of hope,” she said. “Because the pain is being seen internationally, and somebody is intervening.”

Another trauma counselor, Farnaz Farrokhi-Holmes, said decades of repression have left many Iranians living with complex trauma—a condition caused by prolonged exposure to violence and fear.

“When trauma happens repeatedly, the brain begins to normalize the threats around it,” she explained.

Over time, she said, the brain adapts to survive in an environment of constant danger.

“The bombs are no longer perceived as the primary threat. The imminent threat is the IRGC—its survival and its continued power.”

Farrokhi-Holmes said she is currently providing pro bono counseling to a young Iranian woman who survived the January 2026 protest crackdowns and later escaped the country after witnessing security forces shoot demonstrators.

The trauma many Iranians carry, she said, is difficult for outsiders to fully grasp. Unless someone has lived under a system where arrests, violence and executions can happen without warning, the psychological response may be hard to understand.

Both therapists emphasized that reactions inside Iran remain complex. Many people are afraid. Many are grieving. But some, they say, also feel something absent for years: hope.

As Afsahi put it, many Iranians are not celebrating war itself but the possibility that decades of repression could finally end.

“They’re not happy about the war,” she said. “They are happy about the possibility of liberation.”