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Iran Football Legend Daei Targeted by ‘Threats’ after Backing Protests 

Iranian football legend Ali Daei. (AFP)
Iranian football legend Ali Daei. (AFP)
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Iran Football Legend Daei Targeted by ‘Threats’ after Backing Protests 

Iranian football legend Ali Daei. (AFP)
Iranian football legend Ali Daei. (AFP)

Iranian football legend Ali Daei on Monday said he had been targeted by threats after backing ongoing protests in Iran triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini.  

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16, three days after her arrest by the notorious morality police while visiting Tehran with her younger brother.  

Daei, whose 109 goals at international level was long unsurpassed until he was overtaken by Cristiano Ronaldo, played in Iran's legendary 1998 2-1 World Cup victory against the United States. 

He decided not be go to the World Cup in Qatar due to the Iranian authorities' deadly crackdown on the protests.  

"I have received numerous threats against myself and my family in recent months and days from some organizations, medias and unknown individuals," Daei said in a statement on Instagram.  

"I was taught humanity, honor, patriotism and freedom.... What do you want to achieve with such threats?" he added.  

In the post, Daei also called for the "unconditional release" of prisoners arrested in the crackdown on the protests in Iran.  

Daei earlier this month said he would not be travelling to Qatar for the World Cup, despite having an invitation from the organizers, saying he wanted to be "with my compatriots and express sympathy with all those who have lost loved ones" in the ongoing crackdown.  

His comments come as Iran prepares to face the United States on Tuesday, in a repeat of the 1998 showdown, with Team Melli seeking to reach the final stages of a World Cup for the first time in its history.  

There has been intense scrutiny on football as the protests continue in Iran, posing the biggest challenge to the regime since the 1979 revolution.  

Daei himself reportedly had his passport confiscated when returning to Iran in the early phase of the protests but subsequently had it returned.  

Prominent Iranian footballer of Kurdish origin Voria Ghafouri, who has been outspoken in his support of the protests, was arrested last week.  

Iranian media reports said he had been released on bail. But Norway-based Kurdish rights group Hengaw denied this and said he had been transferred from the west of Iran to jail in Tehran. 

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Western Nations Condemn Iranian Intelligence Threats

Police forensic science officers search a house in Rochdale on 4 May. (Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images) 
Police forensic science officers search a house in Rochdale on 4 May. (Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images) 
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Western Nations Condemn Iranian Intelligence Threats

Police forensic science officers search a house in Rochdale on 4 May. (Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images) 
Police forensic science officers search a house in Rochdale on 4 May. (Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images) 

Britain and 13 allies including the United States and France condemned on Thursday what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services targeting individuals in Europe and North America.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the countries said in a joint statement, according to Reuters.

The governments - of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US - called on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop such illegal activities.

They said such actions were increasingly carried out in collaboration with international criminal networks.

The statement came two days after Darya Safai, a Belgian-Iranian member of Brussels' Parliament, accused Iranian forces of planning to kidnap her in Türkiye.

“Today, the Belgian police and security services contacted me regarding an alarming situation concerning my safety. They had received worrying information indicating that the Islamic regime in Iran wants to kidnap me and take me to Tehran,” she posted on X.

Last month, the British parliament said in a report that Iran poses a significant and wide-ranging threat to Britain.

Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee said the Iranian threat varied from physical attacks, to espionage, offensive cyber capabilities and its attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

The report's authors said they had been advised the physical threat was “comparable with the threat posed by Russia.”

Since early 2022, Britain says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill individuals in the UK, including British nationals and others Tehran views as threats.

In October, Reuters reported that Iran was behind a wave of attempted assassinations and abductions across Europe and the United States.

In March, the British government announced it would require the Iranian state to register all political influence activities, citing increasingly aggressive behavior by Tehran's intelligence services.

Early last month, a Danish national has been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of spying for Iran by collecting information on Jewish sites and individuals in Berlin, and will be extradited to Germany.

German prosecutors said the man spied on three properties in June in preparation for further intelligence activities, including possibly attacks on Jewish targets.

Germany's foreign ministry said the Iranian envoy was summoned to express the country’s serious concerns about the case, which has further strained relations between Berlin and Tehran.

In return, the Iranian embassy in Berlin rejected the allegations as “unfounded and dangerous accusations” that it said appeared designed to distract from Israeli attacks on Iran.

Also, Spain's High Court charged last month eight individuals with the attempted assassination of former right wing politician Alejo Vidal-Quadras over his ties to an Iranian opposition group and support for dissident groups.