\n
ENGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Iranian Americans are torn apart Iran’s participation in the World Cup<\/span> Some area residents plan to watch Monday’s game, while others are planning protests outside the stadium where the team will play.<\/p>\nThe rally is planned outside a stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran. Many of Southern California’s Iranian-Americans arrived after the Islamic Revolution, and there is a downtown center of restaurants, shops, and markets about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the stadium. It is known as “Tehrangeles”.<\/span><\/p>\nParticipants in the rally will wear lion and sun T-shirts and wave national flags dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protest against the Tehran government. deadly January crackdown<\/span> Regarding opposing opinions. <\/p>\nAli Javahery, a 59-year-old Iranian-born consultant who lives in Orange County, Calif., said he planned to protest outdoors rather than watch the opening match between Iran and New Zealand indoors. He said that soccer and politics are closely related and that although he loves soccer, players on the national team are under pressure to comply with the Iranian government’s position.<\/p>\n
“This is not ‘Team Melli,’ as the national team is known in Persian,” Javaheri said. “This is Team Islamic Republic.”<\/p>\n
Iran’s participation in the event is fraught with conflict due to its war with the US and Israeli forces. team Moved practice base<\/span> From Tucson, Arizona, and parts of the country to Mexico Major soccer officials<\/span> He had not been issued a visa to enter the United States. Many people in the diaspora mixed emotions<\/span> About how we show our support for the Iranian people, not the government, through our love of soccer.<\/p>\n“We play for all Iranians, whether in the diaspora or within Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and strive to bring joy to all Iranians, no matter where they live,” team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference on Sunday. “We are here to bring joy to the Iranian people. We are not involved in politics. We are here to play football.”<\/p>\n
Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he will be watching the game in San Diego with his 96-year-old father. He said he did not buy tickets for the match, partly because prices had gone up. But he said he supported the team, putting politics aside, while respecting the wide range of opinions shared by Iranians in the diaspora.<\/p>\n
“I’m a die-hard soccer fan, and the boys, they represent Persians and Iranians all over the world,” said Gharajedaghi, who left Iran at the age of 10. “For me, it has nothing to do with what kind of government they have in Iran.”<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Sign up for Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines.\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Watch parties are planned in Southern California to cheer on the team, and many bought tickets when Iran was assigned to play in Los Angeles last year. But in recent months, some people have sold their tickets in anger after January’s brutal crackdown.<\/p>\n
Some Iranian-American soccer fans say the team is now tied to politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, notable former members of the national team arrested on suspicion of protesting<\/span> In defiance of the country’s leaders, star striker Sardar Azmoun was not selected for this year’s World Cup squad. The incident was reportedly caused by a social media post that read: anger of authorities<\/span>.<\/p>\nIran coach Amir Galenoei called Azmoun a “great player” and said he wished he had been on his team.<\/p>\n
Asked about the large diaspora, Galenoei said on Sunday: “I’m really happy that they came to see us. I hope they will pray for us and I hope they will encourage us.” He added that he hopes the team repays that loyalty by playing a good game.<\/p>\n
Some Iranian-Americans are also angry about FIFA’s rules prohibiting the display of political flags. They want to fly the pre-revolutionary lion and sun flag, which is not Iran’s official flag. The Iranian American Freedom Voice Institute announced last week that it had filed a lawsuit in California challenging FIFA’s flag rule.<\/p>\n
At the opening ceremony in Los Angeles on Friday, the mostly American crowd booed when the Iranian flag was brought onto the field. <\/p>\n
late Sunday, President Donald Trump announces<\/span> The US has reached an agreement with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. war<\/span> The plan, launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, has shocked the region and effectively halted oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. Details of the contract, which is expected to be signed on Friday, were not available.<\/p>\n___<\/p>\n
AP Sports Writer Greg Beauchamp contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ENGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Iranian Americans are torn apart Iran’s participation in the World Cup Some area residents plan to watch Monday’s game, while others are planning protests outside the stadium where the team will play. The rally is planned outside a stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-36291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer"},"yoast_head":"\n
Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ENGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Iranian Americans are torn apart Iran’s participation in the World Cup Some area residents plan to watch Monday’s game, while others are planning protests outside the stadium where the team will play. The rally is planned outside a stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-15T04:56:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin_ok9yktt6\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/\",\"name\":\"Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-15T04:56:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg\",\"width\":980,\"height\":653},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Protests and watching parties await Iran’s World Cup match\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/\",\"name\":\"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates\",\"description\":\"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9\",\"name\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin_ok9yktt6\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","og_description":"ENGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Iranian Americans are torn apart Iran’s participation in the World Cup Some area residents plan to watch Monday’s game, while others are planning protests outside the stadium where the team will play. The rally is planned outside a stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.","og_url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/","og_site_name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","article_published_time":"2026-06-15T04:56:26+00:00","author":"admin_ok9yktt6","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin_ok9yktt6","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/","name":"Protests and watching parties await Iran's World Cup match - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-15T04:56:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/urlhttps3A2F2Fassets.apnews.com2Fff2F4b2F028cc280641aa4888e36c844b04d2Fd9866a8d1511417b955b8d299cc1cd00.jpeg","width":980,"height":653},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/protests-and-watching-parties-await-irans-world-cup-match\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Protests and watching parties await Iran’s World Cup match"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/","name":"EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News & Updates","description":"EPL VIP is your ultimate source for all things related to the English Premier League. Get the latest EPL news, live match updates, transfer rumors, team analysis, fixtures, and exclusive insights for true football fans.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6b2ade58a96ab056f743f12490573ae9","name":"admin_ok9yktt6","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3caa6e0fae133a2d8ebe213abde6eafe85769664d063c8ab6c7960c877d904ea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin_ok9yktt6"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/eplvip.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/author\/admin_ok9yktt6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}