Today's Video Headlines: 03/16/2026
is set to leave Malaysia on Monday night, ending days of uncertainty after most of the seven squad members who sparked a diplomatic furor byThe Asian Football Confederation general secretary Windsor John told The Associated Press that the team’s departure Monday night was arranged by the Iran ian embassy.
He said the AFC, which is supporting the Iranian team in Kuala Lumpur, was told they are flying to Oman, but that isn’t their final destination. He said he wasn’t aware of their full travel plans.in Iran, Windsor said that both the AFC and FIFA will check up on them regularly with the Iranian football federation, “as they are our girls as well.”Members of Iran’s women’s football team arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on March 16, 2026.The squad flew from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on March 10 after being knocked out of the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, initially leaving behind six players and a support staff member who had accepted protection visas. Four players and the staffer have since rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur, the latest flying in on Monday. No reasons have been given for the changes of heart. The Iranian diaspora in Australia blames pressure from Tehran.Archaeologists uncover lost medieval city that vanished without a trace Windsor said at a news conference earlier that his confederation had not received any direct complaints from players about returning home, despite media reports that their families in Iran could face retaliation for the team failing to sing their national anthem before the opening match. The silence during the anthem was variously reported as an act of resistance or a show of mourning. The team didn’t clarify, and it sang at the opening of a later match.Iran players pose for a team photo ahead of the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026.“We couldn’t verify anything. We asked them, and they said, ‘No, it’s ok,’” he said. “They are actually in high spirits… they didn’t look afraid.”Iran’s squad had arrived in Australia for the tournament shortly before the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28, complicating travel arrangements. Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite described the women’s plight in Australia as a “very complex situation.” “These are deeply personal decisions, and the government respects the decisions of those that have chosen to return. And we continue to offer support to the two that are remaining,” Thistlethwaite said.Iranian fans waving Pahlavi-era flags during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between Iran and Australia in Gold Coast on March 5, 2026.Those who stayed in Australia have been moved to an undisclosed safe location and are receiving assistance from the government and the Iranian diaspora community, he said.Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a political scientist at Sydney’s Macquarie University who spent more than two years in Iranian prisons on spying charges from 2018 to 2020, said “winning the propaganda war” had overshadowed the women’s welfare. “The high stakes made the Iranian regime sit up and pay attention and try to force their hand in response, in my view,” Moore-Gilbert said. Iranian women’s soccer team member flip-flops on asylum — reveals secret site where her teammates hid Aussie woman chases away Iranian goons as they hunt women’s soccer players who escaped hotel: ‘Get the f–k out’Trump urges Australia to grant asylum to Iranian women’s soccer team after national anthem protest “I do think in this case, had these woman quietly sought asylum without that publicity around them, it’s possible that the Islamic Republic officials might have, as they have in the cases of other Iranian sports people in the past who’ve defected … simply allowed that to happen,” she added.were “returning to the warm embrace of their family and homeland,” describing their return as a failure of what it called an American-Australian political effort.The Iranian women’s soccer team is set to leave Malaysia on Monday night, ending days of uncertainty after most of the seven squad members who sparked a diplomatic furor by seeking asylum in Australia reversed their decisions and rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur.Concerns about the team’s safety in Iran heightened when the players didn’t sing the Iranian national anthem.9 Iranian women’s soccer team captain Zahra Ghanbari arrives at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 16, 2026.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in August after announcing that intelligence officials had concluded that the Revolutionary Guard had directed arson attacks on a Sydney kosher food company and Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in 2024. Australian-Iranian Society of Victoria vice president Kambiz Razmara said the women who accepted asylum had been under pressure from the Tehran regime. “They’ve had to make decisions at the spur of the moment with very little information and they’ve had to react to the circumstance,” Razmara said. “I’m surprised that they’ve decided to go, but I’m actually not surprised because I appreciate the pressures that they’re experiencing.”Iranian women’s soccer team captain is latest to withdraw asylum bid: 'Family members are missing'Kendall Jenner’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party 2026 red carpet dress holds a secret messageAFP via Getty Images Iran players pose for a team photo ahead of the Women's Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026.Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke with an Iranian football player and team official in Sydney.Iranian fans waving Pahlavi-era flags during the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 match between Iran and Australia in Gold Coast on March 5, 2026.The Iranian women’s soccer team is set to leave Malaysia on Monday night, ending days of uncertainty after most of the seven squad members who sparked a diplomatic furor by seeking asylum in Australia reversed their decisions and rejoined the team in Kuala Lumpur.Iranian women's soccer team captain Zahra Ghanbari arrives at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on March 16, 2026. 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