US Defeats Iran 1-0 In Most Politicized Game Of World Cup
The US football team scored one goal in the first half of the most politicized match of the Qatar World Cup, defeating Iran and qualifying for the next round.
The US football team scored one goal in the first half of the most politicized match of the Qatar World Cup, defeating Iran and qualifying for the next round.
The Iranian national soccer team once again sang along with the Islamic Republic’s anthem before the match against the US team, a gesture that will further discredit them in the eyes of Iranians opposed to the ruling theocracy.
Many Iranians have been urging members of the team to show solidarity with people who have been protesting against the regime since mid-September following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, and sided with the Islamic Republic.
Both US and Iran fans were electrified in the stadium, but the American team won a fast and tense game and will the Netherlands on Saturday, December 3.
Following the loss, people poured onto streets in Iranian cities and held celebrations, chanting antigovernment slogans.
The capital Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, Orumiyeh (Urmia) and Ardabil in the northwest, Dezful and Ahvaz in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, and northern cities of Lahijan and Rasht as well the southern city of Kish and central cities of Zanjan held gatherings, expressing satisfaction that its team failed to use the World Cup as an opportunity to promote regime propaganda. Security forces reportedly attacked the people in the capital Tehran who were out celebrating the team’s loss.
People in Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Marivan, Mahabad, Javanroud, and Saqqez – the birthplace of Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody ignited the protests – held celebratory rallies on streets in support of the protests.
Along with many Iranians who are fed up with the regime’s brutalities and are relieved that the team has been eliminated from the World Cup, US President Joe Biden was also happy after the match.
Before the match, a group of American fans were seen chanting, "Women, Life, Freedom," the motto of protesters in Iran after Mahsa Amini was killed in 'hijab police' custody in September.
Singing the so-called national anthem is a key moment for Iranians because it is a symbol of support for the Islamic Republic, which has been using deadly violence against the people for the past 70 days. Like the two earlier matches, the stadium was full of pro-government fans, many of whom were given free tickets and travel expenses to cheer for the Islamic Republic during the game.
The players remained silent during their opener against England but after the match, people’s reactions on social media and streets indicated that the gesture was not enough to elicit forgiveness for the players, who have lost popularity due to their lack of support for the popular protests. In their second match, the players sang along with the anthem and even celebrated boisterously after scoring goals and winning the match, setting the ground for the world to witness a rift in Iranian society.
Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken played down any link between the match and political tensions, expressing hope that the game would "speak for itself."
The national team players, whether they have been threatened to distance themselves from the protests or have opted to stay on the regime's side, no longer represent many of their countrymen. The Iranian squad – nicknamed Team Melli -- needs at least a draw to book a berth for the knockout stage but the Yanks must defeat Iran if they want to keep their hopes alive in the competitions.
Team Melli 0 - 1 Stars and Stripes
Iranians showed a dull performance in the first half, conceding one goal while they were very lucky that the Americans did not score more.
Videos have already emerged on social media of Iranians celebrating after Christian Pulisic scored the opener for the US.
Iran won its previous match against 10-man Wales 2-0 after its humiliating 6-2 loss against England. The Americans, however, displayed a stable performance in their two earlier matches that ended with a goalless draw against England and a 1-1 tie with Wales.
Citing a source involved in the security of the games, CNN reported Monday that even the families of Team Melli players have been threatened with imprisonment and torture if the players fail to “behave” ahead of the match against the USA. The source added that the players were called to a meeting with members of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), saying that they were told their families would face “violence and torture” if they did not sing the anthem or if they show any act of protest against the Tehran regime.
Qatar, which has strong ties with Washington and friendly relations with Tehran, has staked its reputation on delivering a smooth World Cup, beefing up security at Iran games and banning items that are used to express solidarity with the antigovernment protests, like Iran's ancient sun and lion flag.
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Rahman was speaking after the UN Human Rights Council voted November 24, by 25 votes to six with five abstentions, to establish a fact-finding investigation into deadly government violence against protesters.
In an interview with Reuters news agency, the special rapporteur, said he was concerned at a “campaign” of death sentences over recent protests in Iran, which has a high incidence of capital punishment: “I’m afraid that the Iranian regime will react violently to the Human Rights Council resolution and this may trigger more violence and repression on their part.”
According to Norway-based HRANA, November 286, 451 protestors and 60 members of the security forces have been killed in protests since September 17, the day after the killing in custody of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. Just over 18,000 people have been arrested. Rahman told Reuters that six of those arrested had this month been sentenced to death.
"Now (authorities) have started a campaign of sentencing (protesters) to death," he added, saying he expected more to be sentenced.
Already, 21 people arrested in the context of the protests face the death penalty, including a woman indicted on "vague and broadly formulated criminal offences", and six have been sentenced this month, Rehman said.
Budget, staff, evidence
The mission set up by the UN vote will have a $3.67 million budget and 15 staff, the news agency reported, but Rahman, who has not been allowed to visit Iran since he was appointed in 2018, did not explain what course of action he intended beyond an aim to “collect, consolidate and analyse evidence.”
Iran this week announced that it will not cooperate with the UN investigation, which means Rehman will continue to be persona non grata.
Rehman said he expected the mission to gather a list of perpetrators to be shared to national and regional legal authorities to “ensure accountability and…provide evidence to the courts and tribunals.”
The special rapporteur therefore appeared to evoke universal justice, under which states or international bodies pursue serious cases – usually crimes against humanity – regardless of where the alleged crime took place.
Universal jurisdiction
In July a court in Sweden sentenced to life imprisonment Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian official, over 1988 prison massacres in Iran, three years after he was arrested after arriving in Stockholm on holiday. In January a German court jailed for life Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian intelligence office earlier granted asylum, for murder and rape of prisoners in Damascus.
But such successes are rare. Notable failures in universal jurisdiction include Britain’s 1998 arrest under a Spanish warrant of former Chilean dictator Augustine Pinochet and the 2001-3 prosecution in Belgium of former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon over the 1982 massacres in Beirut’s Sabra-Shatila Palestinian camp. The US has generally eschewed universal jurisdiction, refusing to join the International Criminal Court. President Donald Trump in 2019 pardoned three US soldiers implicated in war crimes in Iraq, and President Joe Biden recently granted immunity to Mohammad bin Salman although US intelligence regards the Saudi crown prince as responsible for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
In a joint video statement released on Monday, Friday prayer Imams and religious scholars from Khash, Taftan, Mijaveh and their neighboring towns decried the regime’s appalling attacks against the people of Kurdish majority cities, the killings on September 30 dubbed as ‘Bloody Friday’ in Zahedan, and a brutal crackdown of Khash residents on November 4, among others.
Protesting Islamic Republic’s violations of human rights and dignity, they said religious leaders, elders and intellectuals in the province with a unified voice condemn government’s violent reaction to protests across the country and show their “national solidarity.”
The clerics said the attacks against the people at the Grand Makki Mosque -- the largest Sunni mosque in Iran located in the center of Zahedan – and Al-Khalil Mosque in Khash, where security forces arrested many people, and similar incidents across the province are aimed at fomenting fear among the people to dissuade them from attending prayers at mosques. They denounced the strategy by the Islami Republic as “Mosquephobia,” apparently because the mosques are places where Sunni people gather to listen to their community leaders criticize the regime.
The signatories of the statement also called for "the release of all political prisoners in Iran, who were arrested during the recent protests." Noting that peaceful protest is the people's right, they also urged the authorities to address issues regarding women's rights. “The voices of the Iranian people should be heard," they added.
Emphasizing that the relentless ethnic and religious discrimination that has persisted over four decades of the Islamic Republic, the Sunni clerics expressed support for “the wise positions” of Mowlavi Abdolhamid as the serious and legitimate demands of the people.
Molavi Abdolhamid, officially known as Sheikh Abdolhamdid Esmailzehi, is the most prominent religious leader of Iran's largely Sunni Baluch population living in the province. Abdolhamid's popularity is largely because of his willingness to challenge the absolute authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Earlier in November, the outspoken Sunni Imam said women, ethnic and religious groups, and minorities have faced discrimination after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He was also brave enough to blame Khamenei for the attack on protesters in his hometown, Zahedan, known as the Bloody Friday. It took place September 30, when security forces killed about 100 people, and injured hundreds. Earlier in the month, he called for an internationally monitored referendum, saying by killing and suppression the government cannot push back a nation.
The statement by the Sunni clergymen came a day after an audio file was leaked by the hacktivist group Black Reward, revealing the Islamic Republic’s plan to tarnish Abdolhamid’s reputation. The audio tape from a meeting between a Revolutionary Guard general and a group of media managers or representatives from outfits affiliated with the IRGC, revealed that Khamenei demanded Mowlavi Abdolhamid be warned over his comments. Qasem Qoreyshi, the deputy commander of IRGC’s paramilitary Basij forces, also said in the meeting that “We made a mistake about Abdolhamid. We first eliminated tribal leaders in the region to give more credit to Abdolhamid. However, he didn’t carry much weight [in the past].”
In a similar joint video statement released earlier in the month, Sunni religious leaders and Friday prayer Imams in Iran’s Kordestan province also called for a referendum under the supervision of international bodies. The Sunni clerics of Sanandaj and Dehgolan called for a plebiscite with the presence of religious and national leaders, as well as neutral international observers to “get out of the current situation.”
Clerics in Iran are among the most privileged groups in society and benefit from many financial and other advantages although a majority of them have minimal educational and almost no work expertise. Among other things, they are exempted from the compulsory two-year military service and unlike other students who have to pay hefty tuition fees, clerical students in Iran get paid for studying in seminaries.
As Iran's biggest protests against the Islamic Republic and clerical rule has been raging on for more than 70 days, turban-tossing has become increasingly a way of taking on the clerics who are blamed for economic failures of the theocratic government and violations of human rights in Iran.
Turban-tossing has turned to s port for young people who approach a cleric in the street and fling the turban off his head. Influential clerics with links to the government rarely walk in the streets and are usually escorted by bodyguards.
Moballeghi, himself a cleric, speaking in parliament Monday said that "During the past two months the people's attitude toward clerics has changed for worse as there is a lot of propaganda against clerics."
Fearing disrespect by the "new revolutionaries" in Iran, according to Moballeghi, many clerics prefer to appear in public in normal, secular outfit. Meanwhile, Moballegi claimed that the robe and turban that Iranian clerics put on follows the model of the outfit worn by Prophet Mohammad. Others, including some clerics say that the prophet dressed like everybody else. At the time everyone was wearing a robe.
Earlier, another cleric in parliament, Mohammad Taghi Naghdali warned that those who toss turbans “are playing with the lion's tail and they should know that they will be punished for that." Earlier, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei had warned them that their "rude behavior will not remain unpunished."
He was right, as the government-owned newspaper Iran reported on Monday that at least two young men have been arrested in Tehran and Babol for turban tossing. Some videos on social media show young women also tossing turbans in the streets before running away.
Opposition to Shiite clerics has been a characteristic of what is now called the" new Iranian revolution." One of the main slogans heard in Iranian cities these days is "Mullahs should get lost."
As a result of many years of discrimination by the clerical government, Iranians have been taking on the clerics during recent protests. In a couple of cities including Qom, protesters have set fire to seminaries.
While many young Iranians are unemployed because of the country's chronic economic crisis, almost every Iranian cleric has some sort of a job at various ministries such as education, justice or Culture and Islamic Guidance. Many other government offices and military organizations in Iran have "ideological departments" led and run by clerics who know nothing about how those organizations operate.
During the protests in the past two months very few Iranian clerics have shown any sympathy with the protesters. On the contrary, many, particularly those at the parliament, or Friday Prayer Imams have called for severely punishing protesters.