Some Iranians Celebrate as US Soccer Defeats Iran’s National Team in World Cup Match

Many Iranians watching the World Cup cheered as their national team lost to the team of the “Great Satan.”  The United States national team defeated the team from the Islamic 1-0 on Tuesday night at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. The Iranian’s loss in the Group B match means that its run for the winner’s trophy has come to an end, while the US advances for the first time to the round of 16. While the groups are determined randomly, the fact that the US and Iran landed in the same grouping added an extra layer of political tension to the already fraught tournament. Following Iran’s defeat, cheers and fireworks reportedly rose up from western Kurdistan province as well as Saqiz, the hometown of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the morality police after being detained for wearing her hijab incorrectly, an event that touched off more than two months of on-going anti-government protests. The US and Iran severed diplomatic ties over 40 years ago, and recent indirect talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers appears to have hit an impasse. Earlier this week, Iran demanded that FIFA, the world football (soccer) association, discipline US Soccer for displaying Iran’s national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying that US Soccer removed the name of God from Iran’s national flag. Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary has in several cases in recent days criminalized support for other national teams and support for the Iranian team’s defeat. The members of Iran’s national team did not sing the country’s national anthem during their first match of the World Cup.