Soccer

Ahead of the Nations League matches coming up in the fall, Israel played Georgia to a 2-2 draw in friendly action over the weekend at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi.

“My homeland is like my mother. If until yesterday, I had a duty to play on the field, from today I am obliged to be in the street beside the people of my country,” she said.

Daniel Peretz was the “Golden Boy” of Israeli soccer, a player who had famously stared down German strikers at the U-21 Euros and won.

According to Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Barghaei, "What happened in Australia was a clear example of hypocrisy and deceit."

Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member last week from the Iranian squad after they sought asylum over fears of possible persecution upon returning home.

The confrontation came in the 28th week of La Liga during a tightly contested match that Atlético won 1-0.

The exact number of delegation members seeking protection remains unclear, with accounts from activists, officials, and Iranian state media differing.

Kiryat Shmona, which sits on the northern border just a stone’s throw from Lebanon, has suffered from almost nonstop rocket and drone attacks, forcing many of its residents to evacuate the city.

Iran’s regime strengthens its grip on dissent, with continued arrests and a strict internet blackout, as the threat of future protests looms over the country’s fragile stability.

Concerns about the players' safety upon their return home grew after Iranian state television labeled the team "wartime traitors" for refusing to sing the national anthem during a women's Asian Cup.