Iran women's soccer team remains silent during national anthem

The Iranian national women's soccer team chose not to sing Iran's national anthem before their opening match at the Asian Football Confederation's Women's Asian Cup in Australia on March 2.

Instead, the women stood in silence as "Mehr-e Khavaran" played aloud inside Gold Coast Stadium just two days after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in strikes carried out by the United States and Israel.

Marziyeh Jafari, the team's head coach, looked on smiling during the moment. The team went on to lose 3-0 to South Korea in the game, which is available to watch in full on the Asian Cup's YouTube.

While the players have not said why they remained silent during the national anthem, doing so in the past has been a form of protest against Iran's regime.

At the 2022 World Cup, the Iranian men's soccer team chose not to sing their country's national anthem before their opening match as an act of solidarity with anti-government protesters.

The Women's Asian Cup is an international soccer competition occurring every four years for teams in the Asian Football Confederation. The 2026 tournament kicked off on Sunday, March 1.

Iran women's soccer team declined to talk about attacks before Asian Cup

So far, the women's team has reportedly opted to remain silent about its country's war off the pitch, too.

During a news conference on March 1, a reporter asked Jafari her thoughts on Khamenei's killing, ESPN and Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

While Jafari, speaking in Farsi, reportedly declined to comment, an AFC media representative responded, "Let's just focus on the game itself," the outlets reported.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran starting on Feb. 28, killing Khamenei. In the days since, the war actions in the region have continued to escalate. So far, six U.S. service members have been killed as a result of the attacks. Other casualties reported in the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera, citing aid organizations, government officials and local media outlets, include:

Iran - 555 killed, hundreds injured

Israel - 10 killed, hundreds injured

The United Arab Emirates - 3 killed, 58 injured

Bahrain - 1 killed, 4 injured

Iraq - 2 killed, 5 injured

Kuwait - 1 killed, 32 injured

Lebanon - 31 killed, 149 injured

Qatar -16 injured, no deaths reported

Oman - 5 injured, no deaths reported

Saudi Arabia - No deaths or injuries reported

Contributing: Julia Gomez & Fernando Cervantes Jr./ USA TODAY

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