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EXCLUSIVE

Iran threatens family of women’s football captain seeking asylum

Raha Pourbakhsh
Raha Pourbakhsh

Iran International

Mar 15, 2026, 10:51 GMT+0
Iran players Zahra Ghanbari (left), Mona Hamoudi and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh react from the bench during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium in Australia on March 8, 2026.
Iran players Zahra Ghanbari (left), Mona Hamoudi and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh react from the bench during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group A match between Iran and the Philippines at Gold Coast Stadium in Australia on March 8, 2026.

The mother of Iran women’s national football captain Zahra Ghanbari has been threatened by Iranian security bodies, including the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit, according to information received by Iran International.

Sources said members of the women’s national team currently in Kuala Lumpur relayed the information to Ghanbari after learning about the pressure on her family.

Ghanbari is the all-time top scorer for Iran’s women’s national team and sought asylum in Australia last week.

The report also said another staff member, Zahra Soltan Moshkeh-Kar had passed on threatening messages from Iran’s football federation leadership to players who had sought asylum, while a third player was reportedly pressured to return after receiving emotional voice messages from family members in Iran.

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