Trump praises Australian PM after call about Iranian women's soccer team

Members of the team entered police custody this month after declining to sing their national anthem.

Published: March 9, 2026 12:16pm

President Donald Trump on Monday praised Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after a call in which the pair discussed Australia providing political asylum to the Iranian women's soccer team.

Members of the team entered police custody this month after declining to sing their national anthem. Earlier on Monday, Trump had urged Australia to grant the team political asylum amid the war with Iran, vowing to take them in should Brisbane opt against it.

"I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it!" Trump posted on Truth Social. "Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way."

"Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return," he went on. "In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!"

Though the Iranian team did not expressly identify their silence as a political statement, some in Iran took it to be a sign of disloyalty to the Islamic Republic, which recently tapped the son of the late Ali Khamenei to assume the mantle of supreme leader.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.

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