Most of the defectors from the Iranian women’s national football team have returned to Iran after their family member's were arrested and threatened by the regime.

The players had been competing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia when the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran.

Before their first match, the team refused to sing the Iranian national anthem, which made returning home unsafe.

Five players, including team captain Zahra Ganbari, and two staff members initially sought asylum in Australia and were granted humanitarian visas.

However, a few days later, five of the players announced that they had “changed their minds” and decided to return to Iran.

Iranian opposition media have shown that their family members were arrested or threatened by the Islamic regime's security services.

Iranian media, which initially labeled the athletes as “traitors,” welcomed their “return to the embrace of the homeland.”

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