Iran awaits female footballers "with open arms", MFA spox says “Come home”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has called on the Iranian women’s football team to return to the country.

“They slaughtered more than 165 innocent Iranian schoolgirls in a double-tap Tomahawk attack in the city of Minab, and now they want to take our athletes hostage in the name of “saving” them? The audacity and hypocrisy are staggering,” he wrote in the post, Caliber.Az reports.

“To Iran's Women's football team: don’t worry—Iran awaits you with open arms. Come home,” Baghaei added.

Earlier today, Iran's Prosecutor General’s Office stated the women’s national football team after five of its members were granted humanitarian visas to remain in Australia. It said the women had acted under the influence of “emotional distress” and could return home “in peace and confidence.”

The women who sought asylum in Australia are between 20 and 30 years old.

By Khagan Isayev