The winner of the match between Iran and the U.S. will advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup, but tensions off the field have raised the stakes even further
, but it later deleted the post. A State Department spokesperson said that the agency wasn’t involved in either decision.The two sides last played each other in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup, during another time of political tension. Iran won that game 2-1 and eliminated the U.S., setting off wild celebrations across the soccer-crazy Middle East country. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei used the opportunity to gloat about the victory over Iran’s archnemesis.
“I hope they lose,” an Iranian soccer fan in Tehran said during the game against England. “I hate everyone and everything that’s related to the Islamic Republic.” Tehran has already co-opted the team’s efforts in Qatar as a tool for propaganda, as it seeks to deflate a protest movement that was triggered by theof 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and has broadened into calls to overthrow the Islamic Republic. More than 400 people have been killed during the protests since they erupted in mid-September, including some 60 children, according to rights organizations.
It is also a rare occasion for Iranians and Americans to face each other in a public arena. Even during ongoing talks that have sought towith Iran, Iranian officials have refused to meet directly with American negotiators.
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