During Iran’s last appearance in the World Cup four years ago in Qatar, players refused to sing their national anthem before their first match against England. Their silence expressed support for the Woman, Life, Freedom movement arising from the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in custody two months earlier after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.
Iranian fans cheered. But before Iran’s next match against Wales four days later, most of the starting lineup either sang or mouthed their national anthem’s words as fans jeered.
What happened? Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached the players between games and threatened their loved ones back home if they continued to protest.
Those incidents exemplify the control that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps holds over not only the national team but all of Iranian soccer.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exerts its influence in domestic soccer through the Persian Gulf Pro League.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rose to prominence during the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War. When Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini agreed to a ceasefire, they feared losing their privileged role and so used their clout and military might to push into the civilian economy. Khomeini died on June 3, 1989, but his successor, Ali Khamenei, secured the Revolutionary Guard’s loyalty by promising economic opportunities insulated from financial accountability. As a result, the Revolutionary Guard expanded into industries ranging from banking to mining to agriculture, and accounts for up to half of Iran’s gross domestic product.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exerts its influence in domestic soccer through the Persian Gulf Pro League. Former Revolutionary Guard commanders serve as club executives or board members, especially at two of the biggest clubs in Asia: Persepolis and Esteghlal, historic rivals based in Tehran. The chief executive officer of one mid-level club, working under an alias, belonged to a death squad that murdered the leader of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan in Vienna in 1989.
The Revolutionary Guard even owns one club: Shiraz’s Fajr Sepasi FC, which the unofficial Team Melli website called “the most hated club in Iran!”
Leading the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is Mehdi Taj, who served as a Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer at 19. Personal corruption flourished during his tenure. In 2019, players accused the federation of stealing 1.5 million Swiss francs, or $1.3 million, which they received for playing in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Because of his Revolutionary Guard background, neither the United States nor Canada granted Taj a visa to attend the World Cup.
Since the men’s national soccer team represents the sporting world’s most direct connection with Iran, the regime takes great pains to use it to promote propaganda and to enforce political compliance. The team’s official video for this year’s World Cup began with shots of an Iranian flag flying near bomb damage, accompanied by a statement of defiance:
The team’s official video for this year’s World Cup began with shots of an Iranian flag flying near bomb damage.
“Even if the entire world becomes our enemy, this land belongs to Imam Mahdi, the imam of time.”
Later in the video, players wearing the national white soccer uniform turn into soldiers wearing camouflage and helmets and brandishing automatic weapons.
Authorities spare no expense to ensure compliance. For the 2022 World Cup, the regime spent $2.36 million to send about 350 agents and social media specialists to the tournament. Qatari authorities helped by banning the lion-and-sun flag, symbolic of the Pahlavi dynasty, and other anti-regime messages.
One year later, when Qatar played host to the Asian Football Confederation’s 2023 Asian Cup, undercover Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij agents arrived to “boost player morale and be in the presence of international photographers,” said Hedayat Membini, the federation’s secretary general. About 100 of the more than 300 agents attended training sessions, while many served as undercover fans. That effort cost the regime about $300,000.
Compliance also involves punitive measures. In 1984, the regime executed Habib Khabiri, Iran’s captain, for supporting political opposition. Forward Sardar Azmoun, a World Cup veteran who plays in the United Arab Emirates and scored 57 goals in 91 games for Iran, was expelled from the national team in March 2026 for appearing in photos with Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. Iran considers the United Arab Emirates a wartime enemy.
In 2023, Tasnim, a news agency close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the regime had arrested prominent players for drinking alcohol and socializing with unmarried women.
Iranian soccer players want to be free, not to face constant coercion and threats from their own institutions while the world naïvely looks on.
The persecution of Mohammed Rachid Mazaheri, a reserve goalkeeper on Iran’s 2018 World Cup squad, best illustrates the coordination between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Federation suspended him in 2019, after he criticized the government for spending money to build soccer stadiums in Iraq. One year later, the Revolutionary Guard interrogated Mazaheri for protesting the execution of three prisoners. In 2021, he received a second suspension from the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran for supporting protests against water scarcity.
Then, in February 2026, shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxy militias killed tens of thousands of Iranian protesters, the regime arrested Mazaheri for posting an Instagram picture of Khamenei with the caption “Satan” and the phrase, “Khamenei! Know that your command over this holy land has ended.” No news about his fate has since emerged.
While many American journalists may criticize U.S. restrictions on visas for the Iranian team competing in this year’s World Cup and its accompanying delegation of Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran officials, Iranians see such criticism as naïve. They understand what many Westerners do not: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps infiltrates and co-opts many institutions, including athletic ones. Iranian soccer players want to be free, not to face constant coercion and threats from their own institutions while the world naïvely looks on.
