Protests and Celebrations: Iranians in Los Angeles Have Mixed Feelings on World Cup

In a social media post a few weeks later, President Donald Trump wrote, “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

Iran and FIFA eventually confirmed the country’s participation in the World Cup. But problems ensued. Iran had to move its base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, due to U.S. visa restrictions.

Players finally received their visas just days before the start of the tournament. But more than a dozen support staff did not get approval.

Nima Tavallaey, a longtime Iranian soccer journalist and co-host of The Italian Football Podcast, said the volatility was unprecedented.

“This is a very politicized World Cup. It is the most politicized World Cup ever,” he said. “This is something that should have been handled by FIFA together with the Trump administration months ago. There should have protocol in place. Lest we forget, this has never been an issue at any other World Cup, not in Russia, not in Qatar, not in Brazil. The last five, six, seven World Cups, this has not been an issue.”

In a pre-match news conference on Sunday, Iranian team captain Mehdi Taremi said the challenges the team has faced have put a damper on what should be a celebratory experience.

“This kind of tension, it undermines that joy and it undermines the message of FIFA and our people, which is that football brings about peace,” Taremi said through an interpreter. “I feel like this World Cup could have provided a better atmosphere than it has, but I hope in the future it will be better for all fans, whatever team they are supporting in the World Cup.”

Iranian Americans in Los Angeles torn over participation in World Cup

But many members of the Iranian diaspora aren’t feeling particularly positive about this year’s team. The greater Los Angeles area is home to the largest population of Iranians outside of Iran. Many fled following the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

And the Iranian Americans who live in the region are among the loudest critics of the current regime leading the country.

Mass anti-government protests in Iran in December 2025 led to an unprecedented and violent crackdown the following month, in which thousands of protesters were killed.

West Los Angeles is home to Persian Square, often referred to as “Tehrangeles.” This is at the heart of the cultural hub of the Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles. On Westwood Boulevard in particular, the street is filled with restaurants serving Persian cuisine, markets and specialty grocers, and locally owned businesses highlighted by signs written in Farsi.

In Pars Book Inc., owner Sam Beykzadeh sat quietly behind the front counter. The shop is widely considered the longest-standing Persian bookstore in the United States. When asked about the Iranian team playing in the World Cup, Beykzadeh had a simple response. “It’s not Iran’s team. It’s the regime’s team,” he said.

The opinion is shared by many in the Iranian community.

They believe the national team serves as a mouthpiece for the regime and that players often remain silent about actions taken by the government for fear of retaliation.

In 2022, a former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country’s leadership. And star player Sardar Azmoun wasn’t selected for this year’s World Cup squad, reportedly because of a social media post that angered the Iranian government.

But there’s another side to the argument. Reza Aslan is an Iranian American author and scholar who lives in Los Angeles.

“(In Los Angeles), the older generation tends to be far more conservative. Far more zealous in their anti-regime sentiments and much more supportive of a military engagement, whether by the United States or Israel, as a kind of desperate measure for changing this regime after four decades of protests and massacres and diplomacy,” he said. “But at the same time, I think that there’s so much focus on the community in Los Angeles. And in particular, that part of the community that tends to be very conservative, tends to be very wealthy. Tends to support, for instance, royalist aspirations in Iran. And that is really a detriment to the enormous diversity of this diaspora.”

FIFA flag ban a huge point of contention

It’s not just the soccer team that many Iranians in Southern California are upset about. Before this year’s World Cup, FIFA announced that it was banning people from displaying the pre-revolution Iran flag in stadiums. The lion and the sun emblem was featured on the national flag before the Iranian revolution in 1979. Now, that flag is used by many in the diaspora as a sign of protest against the regime.

At the first World Cup match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood between the United States and Paraguay, a small group of Iranian protesters gathered near one of the entrances to the stadium. They waved the lion and the sun flag and chanted, “USA.”

“The regime massacres over 100,000 people, and then they shut down the internet, all because of raising this flag,” said Bajir Hajikhani, who was born and raised in Iran and now lives in Orange County. “And now globalist organizations like FIFA have the audacity to ban this flag from the stadiums.”

But this is not the first time FIFA has banned a flag. In 2022, the organization suspended the Russian Football Union from all international competitions after its invasion of Ukraine. In turn, Russia was not allowed to participate in FIFA events — and the Russian flag and anthem were banned from related matches.

Despite the ban, the lion and the sun flag was prominently shown in the stands during Monday night’s match. But there were also plenty of cheers for the team and players throughout the game. Taremi, the captain, said Sunday that the team was just trying to concentrate on the game at hand.

“We play for every single Iranian, whether in the diaspora or in Iran. In every country, people have different opinions. We are here to unite people and bring joy,” he said. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion. We don’t get involved in politics.”