In its debut at the 2026 Asian Cup, the Iranian Women’s Soccer Team refused to sing the Mehr-e Khavaran, the national anthem of the Islamic regime. A gesture that transcends sport and becomes a political act: resistance against a regime that oppresses women while the country is involved in a war offensive by the United States and Israel, a direct attack on women and children. From anywhere in the world it is necessary to condemn the imperialist attacks on Iran and highlight the right of peoples to self-determination while denouncing the oppressive Iranian regime.

Against the regime

Before the game, the players, accompanied by coach Marziyeh Jafari and captain Zahra Ghanbari, categorically refused to sing their national anthem. The cameras captured every gesture: seriousness, silence and the determination not to repeat words that for them symbolize oppression. An act that immediately went viral.

They all agreed in their decision, ignoring possible sanctions from the federation. In a country where women’s protest is punished and where women’s mobilizations have been repressed, the gesture implies concrete risks. Her stance reflects the courage of women who, even in the midst of an international tournament, put their safety at stake to confront the regime. Each gesture reflects years of women’s mobilizations in Iran resisting patriarchal impositions and demanding basic rights against a state and religious apparatus that has been oppressing them for decades.

The debut took place this Monday in Gold Coast, Australia, in the first match of the group against South Korea. The players’ silence occurred in a context of a joint U.S.-Israeli imperialist military offensive on Iranian territory, which opened a new phase of instability in the Middle East. But rejecting the imperialist aggression does not imply ceasing to criticize the regime. The Iranian regime maintains a profoundly patriarchal system supported by the state and religious apparatus that restricts the basic rights of women and is deeply repressive against those who oppose it.

A silence that speaks

The action of the female soccer players is seen as a symbolic protest against the Iranian regime and is in line with the massive mobilizations in Tehran. Women from all over the country are demanding greater freedom and basic rights. The fact that this gesture took place in an international stadium multiplies its visibility and questions the official narrative of power.

While South Korea won 3-0, the real victory was the silent voice of those who dare to look power in the face. Because beyond the sporting result, the silence of the Iranian team resounds as a cry. Women’s soccer, historically relegated and precarious, once again demonstrated that it is also a space for political dispute. On an international stage, the players transformed a protocol act into a global message. Silence was their tool and their protection, but also their denunciation.

We reject the imperialist attack on Iran, and accompany its people, especially women, in their struggle against the Iranian regime.