Iranian said shot dead for celebrating country's football team exit from FIFA World Cup

An Iranian was allegedly shot dead by security forces for celebrating the elimination of the Iran football team from the FIFA World Cup being played in Qatar.

Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, according to human rights activists, India Today reports.

Samak was allegedly celebrating the loss of the Iranian soccer team to the US, which eliminated Iran from the tournament.

The US and Iran are the most bitter rivals ever since the Islamic revolution that took place in Iran in 1979, establishing the Islamic Republic under the leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini.

Samak “was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces … following the defeat of the national team against America”, the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Earlier, Iran's national football team chose to refrain from singing their country's national anthem during their opening World Cup match against England in an apparent show of support for anti-hijab protesters back home.

However, later, the Iran players resumed singing their national anthem during the Group B match against Wales.

Iran has been scrambling to curtail the violent protests that erupted following the alleged custodial death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahasa Amini.