Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump issued an urgent plea to the Australian government on Monday to grant asylum to the Iranian national women's soccer team, warning that repatriating the athletes to their conflict-torn homeland would pose a lethal threat to their safety.

The diplomatic intervention follows the team’s exit from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 after three consecutive losses. The Iranian squad fell 3-0 to South Korea on March 2, suffered a 4-0 defeat against host nation Australia on March 5, and concluded their campaign with a 2-0 loss to the Philippines on March 8.

In a statement posted to Truth Social, Trump directed his message to the Australian leadership. "Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian Women's National Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed. Don't do it, Mr Prime Minister, give ASYLUM. The U.S. will take them if you won't. Thank you for your attention to this matter," he wrote.

The president’s remarks coincide with reports from the office of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi that five members of the squad have already defected. The players, identified as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi, reportedly abandoned their training camp to seek refuge.

"These five courageous athletes, currently in a safe location, have announced that they have joined Iran's national Lion and Sun Revolution," the Crown Prince’s office stated.

Geopolitical Turmoil

The crisis surrounding the athletes unfolds against the backdrop of a widening regional war triggered by the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli military strikes that killed Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several high-ranking officials.

Tehran responded with retaliatory barrages against American military installations in various Arab nations and Israeli interests. The conflict has since expanded into Lebanon, where Israel has intensified strikes against Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned groups.

On Sunday, Iran’s Assembly of Experts formalised the nation's leadership transition by appointing the late leader's son, 56-year-old cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new Supreme Leader. The elevation of the younger Khamenei marks only the third such transition since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, occurring at a moment when the Islamic Republic faces unprecedented military pressure.

With inputs from ANI