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Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.

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Speaker 1: It's Wednesday, March eleven, twenty twenty six. The Nationals are

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Speaker 1: officially in the market for a new leader after David

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Speaker 1: little Proud announced his resignation.

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Speaker 2: But I'm buggareed, I'm buggreed. I'll have enough to lead

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Speaker 2: this great party. Would be the wrong thing for me

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Speaker 2: to do.

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Speaker 3: I love the National Party. I grew up in it.

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Speaker 2: I'll believe till the day I die Green and Gold.

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Speaker 2: I love it, and it'd be wrong for me to

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Speaker 2: say that I'm the right person to continue to lead.

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Speaker 1: Valconvene a party room meeting to vote on a new

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Speaker 1: NAT's leader before the week is out. A text message,

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Speaker 1: a band of devoted Guardian Angels and a dramatic escape.

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Speaker 1: Today we go inside the incredible adventure of the Iranian

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Speaker 1: women's soccer teams bid to stay in Australia with Asia

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Speaker 1: Pacific correspondent Amanda Hodge. She's here in just a moment.

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Speaker 1: Amanda Hodge is the Asia Pacific correspondent for The Australian

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Speaker 1: and she's covering the incredible, dramatic, breaking story of the

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Speaker 1: Iranian women's soccer team and their attempt to stay in Australia. Amanda,

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Speaker 1: there's an amazing image that Australians are absorbing today of

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Speaker 1: the Iranian women standing with their hair uncovered with Minister

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Speaker 1: Tony Burke. It's quite a remarkable political statement in itself,

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Speaker 1: isn't it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it is.

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Speaker 2: And what others have remarked upon to me, those who

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Speaker 2: have been trying to help these women, it's the first

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Speaker 2: time they've seen them with their heads held up, not

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Speaker 2: just uncovered, but with their chins up, you know, because

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Speaker 2: they've been so cowed while they've been here in Australia,

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Speaker 2: and they're under such very tight surveillance and security that

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Speaker 2: they carry themselves as people who are under a lot

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Speaker 2: of pressure.

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Speaker 1: Standing to the right of Tony Burke as we look

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Speaker 1: the photo is Zaraganbari. She's the captain of the Iranian

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Speaker 1: women's soccer team and she was involved in an incident

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Speaker 1: that I think is probably the only thing many Australians

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Speaker 1: knew about this team before they got here. That's in

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Speaker 1: a previous match when her hijab slipped after she scored

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Speaker 1: a goal. She was forced to apologize for that. She

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Speaker 1: was benched Essentially the team had to apologize as well.

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Speaker 1: It's just part of the kind of oppression that ordinary

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Speaker 1: Iranian women have faced in their home country, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I look at this picture of these

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Speaker 2: women and I feel so deeply for them because you know,

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Speaker 2: they're smiling. There's obviously relief there, but mean what intense anxiety.

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Speaker 2: There must also be feeling, you know, for what awaits

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Speaker 2: their families back in her m as a sort of

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Speaker 2: collective punishment.

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Speaker 1: Let's have a look at a couple of the moments

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Speaker 1: that supititated today's events. So that's the women declining to

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Speaker 1: sing before one of their matches. By the time they

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Speaker 1: took to the field to play the Matildas, they were

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Speaker 1: adopting a different attitude. Amanda, What do we know about

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Speaker 1: what happened between those two videos.

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Speaker 2: Well, obviously, the first match and their refusal to sing

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Speaker 2: was an intensely courageous, active defiance and it endeared those

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Speaker 2: women to a lot of Australians, even as.

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Speaker 3: It imperiled them back home.

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Speaker 2: And in the days between that first match and the

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Speaker 2: Thursday match with the Matildas, broadcasters on State Iranian Television,

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Speaker 2: which is the mouthpiece for the regime made it clear

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Speaker 2: that these women were wartime traitors for not singing the

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Speaker 2: national anthem, and that they ought to be treated in

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Speaker 2: the most severe fashion when they return, and in the

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Speaker 2: most severe fashion under the Iranian regime is almost worse

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Speaker 2: than most of us could imagine imagine for those women

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Speaker 2: already facing returning to a war zone, constant aerial bombardments,

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Speaker 2: and on top of that, understanding that when they land

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Speaker 2: they're going to disappear into the labyrinth of one of

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Speaker 2: the most repressive regimes in the world.

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Speaker 1: The fact that it's war at the moment in Iran

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Speaker 1: is certainly making things more chaotic, but really the reality

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Speaker 1: for Iranian women, as far as we can tell from here,

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Speaker 1: hasn't changed, has it. I mean, it's only in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty two that a woman was beaten to death by

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Speaker 1: the morality police for failing to wear her hitjub properly.

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Speaker 1: What is the war doing to the situation here? Is

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Speaker 1: it making it more complicated or making it simpler?

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Speaker 3: Nothing is simple about this war.

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Speaker 2: In fact, after the women Like Freedom protests in twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty two, there was almost like a sort of silent

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Speaker 2: detente between the regime and the women, that there would

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Speaker 2: be a sort of hitab by choice settlement of that

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Speaker 2: that in most cases they had pulled back from their

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Speaker 2: very restrictive interpretation of regime rules.

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Speaker 3: But that's all over now.

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Speaker 2: Once the economic protests of December and January occurred and

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Speaker 2: that terrible, brutal, bloody massacre took place by the regime

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Speaker 2: where thousands of people were killed, all bets were off.

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Speaker 2: And now that the war has started, now that the

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Speaker 2: US and Israel have begun aerially targeting all the regime

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Speaker 2: headquarters and defense facilities and senior individuals, the regime is

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Speaker 2: really hammering the population. There is no room for compromise

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Speaker 2: now at all. And in some ways, yes, that has

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Speaker 2: made it very simple for a lot of Iranians. They

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Speaker 2: understand now that the time of compromise, of edging forward

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Speaker 2: bit by bit, very painfully, at great cost and sacrifice

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Speaker 2: to the civilian population is over now and that you know,

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Speaker 2: it's taken them forty seven years to wrestle back basic

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Speaker 2: freedoms that they should never have lost in the first place,

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Speaker 2: and now they're at a point where they understand that's

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Speaker 2: over and that this terrible war on their nation and

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Speaker 2: that the civilians are paying for maybe the only chance

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Speaker 2: they have to throw off this regime. That's not universal,

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Speaker 2: that's not a universal feeling, but it's clear that that

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Speaker 2: is a much more popular understanding and interpretation of what's

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Speaker 2: happening now.

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Speaker 1: It's amazing how fast things have moved. Sin's that Thursday match.

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Speaker 1: Over the weekend, groups of Iranian diasper members were at

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Speaker 1: the team's hotel in Queensland. There was video that appeared

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Speaker 1: to show one of them making a hand gesture requesting help.

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Speaker 1: And then it seemed really impossible that anything would happen. Amanda,

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Speaker 1: I was expecting these women to get bundled on a

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Speaker 1: plane and then disappear back to Iran forever. But then overnight,

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Speaker 1: suddenly it was on. Donald Trump was calling Anthony Albanezi,

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Speaker 1: Tony Burke was rushing to Queensland. Let's just slow it

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Speaker 1: down a little bit. First of all, Donald Trump's intervention.

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Speaker 1: I mean, this is a president who has been pretty

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Speaker 1: tough on immigration. He has certainly suspended asylum application rights

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Speaker 1: for people from large parts of the world. The Iranian

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Speaker 1: diasper in America has been complaining about that, and yet

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Speaker 1: clearly his heart went out to these women.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that was extraordinary, it wasn't it.

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Speaker 2: I saw that in the middle of the night and

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Speaker 2: just marveled at the sort of contradiction there. It wasn't

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Speaker 2: just Australians that were moved by these women's courage, you know.

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Speaker 3: I mean, it takes enormous guts.

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Speaker 2: To do what they did on that Sunday night, March

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Speaker 2: the first, and the pressure they've been under.

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Speaker 3: I think most people can understand that terrible.

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Speaker 2: Sophie's choice that they are faced with protect themselves and

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Speaker 2: put their families in peril or go back to certain punishment.

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Speaker 2: It's an impossible choice.

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Speaker 3: I mean.

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Speaker 2: Trump's intervention was obviously after the horse had bolted, you know,

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Speaker 2: the government was already on it. The women had already

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Speaker 2: left and were in a safe house. And that came

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Speaker 2: after days and days of escalating pressure. And the tipping

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Speaker 2: point that I understand was when a message came from

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Speaker 2: one of the player's families saying you need to stay.

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Speaker 1: That's the most moving and self sacrificing act by family member,

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Speaker 1: isn't it, Because just like in China and in other

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Speaker 1: places around the world, those families at home would know

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Speaker 1: that they would face the repercussions for whatever actions their

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Speaker 1: daughters took here in Australia. What do you know about

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Speaker 1: how things then unfolded inside the team hotel.

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Speaker 2: From what I've been told, the pressure had been building

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Speaker 2: pretty vast and on Sunday some of the diaspora had

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Speaker 2: managed to talk to a couple of the players. They

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Speaker 2: were so anxious, you know, they were looking behind them

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Speaker 2: the whole time they were adjusting their hitjabs, and what

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Speaker 2: they were saying to the people that were in the

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Speaker 2: hotel trying to help them was it can't be this easy.

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Speaker 3: It's not going to be this easy. We're frightened.

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Speaker 2: And the reason they were saying that is because the

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Speaker 2: team officials have been in their heads for days, telling

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Speaker 2: them no matter what you hear, no matter what you're told,

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Speaker 2: it won't work, you won't be able to seek asylum.

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Speaker 2: Don't even try it. And then what I understand has

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Speaker 2: been happening is there are two critical figures that live abroad.

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Speaker 2: One is a former Iranian player herself who sought asylum

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Speaker 2: five or six years ago and lives in Turkey and

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Speaker 2: is a really safe and trusted source for the players

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Speaker 2: here in Australia. She has been shuttling messages back and

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Speaker 2: forth between Iran and the diasper and when she can't

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Speaker 2: get them to the gaspra directly to the players themselves,

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Speaker 2: and she was the one that was able to reach

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Speaker 2: out to the families and then return those messages to

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Speaker 2: the players. And there's another woman in London who's similarly

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Speaker 2: been helping with intelligence, helping connect the players and assuring

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Speaker 2: them that there's a plan for them if they do

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Speaker 2: decide to jump.

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Speaker 1: The Australian Federal Police has had an officer with the

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Speaker 1: team and that's a very delicate situation for an Australian official,

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Speaker 1: isn't it. I mean, Australia is not actually at war

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Speaker 1: with Iran, although we are of course supporting the United

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Speaker 1: States and Israel's combat there. So for an Australian official

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Speaker 1: to be facilitating or encouraging or allowing this application for

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Speaker 1: asylum is very interesting.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, what a position to be in.

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Speaker 2: It's pretty standard protocol from what I've been told, for

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Speaker 2: an AFP officer to be assigned to visiting teams for

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Speaker 2: whatever they need. But I think it quickly, very quickly

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Speaker 2: became clear that that officer's job was going to be

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Speaker 2: a dual purpose role. And that I was told that

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Speaker 2: at least on the Monday after those five women escaped,

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Speaker 2: that that officer was one by one talking to the

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Speaker 2: other players, talking them through what might happen, what their

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Speaker 2: options were, and that assuring them that the government would

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Speaker 2: be there to help them if they chose to seek asylum.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, immensely difficult role for that AFP officer, who

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Speaker 2: I gather has handled it very well.

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Speaker 1: Like any visiting team, they've got traveling officials with them.

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Speaker 1: When officials come from Iran, they might be associated with

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Speaker 1: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which at the moment, according

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Speaker 1: to reports from Iran, seemed to be in the ascendant.

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Speaker 1: They're certainly allied with the new Supreme Leader Ayatola Moshtavar Khamani,

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Speaker 1: who himself has been associated with the crackdown on immortist wear.

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Speaker 1: What is the situation now? And this is kind of

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Speaker 1: almost an ethical question too, Amanda, How should Australia treat

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Speaker 1: those officials. Are they committing some sort of crime if

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Speaker 1: they try to stop the women from staying here. Would

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Speaker 1: it be possible for Australia to detain them?

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Speaker 3: It is a very difficult question, and not just for

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Speaker 3: the reasons that you raised.

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Speaker 2: You have to remember that on Sunday match the first

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Speaker 2: the coach also did not sing the national anthem. Other

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Speaker 2: team members did not sing the national anthem. So while

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Speaker 2: they're all lumped in together as minders that you know

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Speaker 2: have been blocking the players, I think there are people

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Speaker 2: on the accompanying staff team that are probably sympathetic to

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Speaker 2: the players, but even considering affording them asylum is a

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Speaker 2: difficult one for the government. You know, Tony Burke has

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Speaker 2: already said that the players will be given asylum. There's

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Speaker 2: been no mention of team officials. Yes, there are IIGC

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Speaker 2: officials on that team, and yet giving them asylum. I mean,

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Speaker 2: it's hard to imagine that ever happening, But imagine what

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Speaker 2: they're in for when they get back, right, they're in

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Speaker 2: for it too because they failed and they embarrassed the

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Speaker 2: regime at a time of acute vulnerability.

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Speaker 1: This is the power of a totalitarian regime, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: Everyone becomes complicit. You know, if you're some sort of

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Speaker 1: agent of the state, you are perpetrator and victim potentially.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and look, I mean some of the diasper and

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Speaker 2: others have alleged that there are several IRGC officers who

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Speaker 2: hold you know, multiple roles at once, and that may

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Speaker 2: be true, but we have no way of knowing that,

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Speaker 2: you know, So to be labeled IRGC here in Australia

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Speaker 2: is to essentially block their path to asylum.

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Speaker 3: Maybe it's true, maybe it's not.

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Speaker 2: The government is in for a really difficult time if

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Speaker 2: they too seek asylum. As for whether they can you know,

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Speaker 2: detain them, I think they're more likely to be facing

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Speaker 2: the dilemma of whether they allow some of these other

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Speaker 2: accompanying staff to stay.

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Speaker 3: And I think that's going to be the big question

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Speaker 3: coming up.

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Speaker 1: Why the Iranian diaspora hope Australians finally understand their flight.

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Speaker 3: Well I've got you.

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Speaker 1: The Australians going to be completely free to read this

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Speaker 1: weekend on our website and app for new visitors. We

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Speaker 1: do forensic, first class journalism on everything from health and

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Speaker 1: wealth to politics and glads bbal affairs. Check us out

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Speaker 1: at the Australian dot com dot au and we'll be

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Speaker 1: back after the break. Iranians are consistently in one of

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Speaker 1: the highest cohorts of people applying for asylum in Australia.

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Speaker 1: They were some of the passengers on people smuggling vessels

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Speaker 1: when they were coming to Australia. People have been trying

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Speaker 1: to escape this regime for years and years, and sympathy

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Speaker 1: for them kind of waxes and wains.

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Speaker 3: We've already talked about Donald Trump's approach.

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Speaker 1: To refugees, but Australians have really embraced this team, haven't they.

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Speaker 1: What does that tell us about kind of the personalization

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Speaker 1: of a story like this, When you can see a

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Speaker 1: face and feel something about an individual, does that change

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Speaker 1: the way you think about refugees?

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Speaker 3: I think yes.

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Speaker 2: I think the fact that they're sports players probably makes

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Speaker 2: them more familiar to Australians. Remember it wasn't that long

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Speaker 2: ago that the Afghan women's football team was also assisted

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Speaker 2: to seek asylum in Australia. But I think you can't

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Speaker 2: underestimate how Australians feel about or how they've come to

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Speaker 2: understand the dilemma that Iranians face. And I think we

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Speaker 2: didn't understand that fully for many years.

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Speaker 3: But the December.

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Speaker 2: January protests and the awful crackdown murder of thousands of civilians,

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Speaker 2: it's hard not to feel intense sympathy for people living

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Speaker 2: under that oppression, facing that sort of daily threat to

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Speaker 2: their lives, that sort of existential threat, and I think that's.

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Speaker 3: Driven at home.

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Speaker 2: On top of that, you get the you know, this

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Speaker 2: courageous team of women coming into the country. It's timing

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Speaker 2: as well as circumstance. And yeah, I think it's all

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Speaker 2: come at a time when it's coalesced to a point

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Speaker 2: where Australians do understand, you know, a bit more about

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Speaker 2: Iran and I think when in talking to some of

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Speaker 2: the diaspora, they mention how frustrating it's been trying to

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Speaker 2: get people to understand in Australia that Iranian people are

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Speaker 2: not their regime. You know, most Iranians are very much

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Speaker 2: against opposed to their regime. In fact, most Iranians are

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Speaker 2: very secular people and have become more secular as their

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Speaker 2: you know, theocratic regime has become more oppressive. We probably

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Speaker 2: have more in common with Aralians than we could ever imagine.

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Speaker 1: Well, I can't wait to read your story, Amanda Hodge,

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Speaker 1: Thank you very much.

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Speaker 3: Thanks Claire.

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Speaker 1: Amanda Hodge is The Australian's Asia Pacific correspondent. You can

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Speaker 1: read the latest on this story and all the best

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Speaker 1: of news anytime at the Australian dot com dot au