Pro-Resistance Channels Accuse Opposition Network of Threatening Iranian Football Team

Opposition Broadcaster Accused of Intimidating Athletes

Pro-Iran and "Axis of Resistance"-aligned Telegram channels, including گروه انصارالله یمن (Ansarullah Yemen Group) and مقاومت اسلامی انصارالله یمن (Islamic Resistance Ansarullah Yemen), have sharply criticized the foreign-based opposition network Iran International, accusing it of broadcasting public threats against the Iranian national football team.

According to the Islamic Resistance Ansarullah Yemen, with just over 100 days remaining until the start of the World Cup, a political program hosted by Mazdak Mirzaei engaged in a regrettable act designed to undermine the morale and threaten the lives of the national players. The channels, which maintain a staunchly pro-Islamic Republic editorial stance, framed the broadcast as the work of Persian-speaking Mossad mercenaries. A post shared across both networks directly quoted the Iran International broadcast warning the athletes about the upcoming tournament in the United States: "Assuming that the Islamic Republic remains stable until the World Cup, how are you going to deal with the anger of Iranians in Los Angeles in America!?"

The Ansarullah Yemen Group further quoted the opposition program as describing the tournament as an unwinnable situation for the squad. The broadcast allegedly stated, "For all members of the national team, this World Cup is lose-lose; because if they do not go, they miss the World Cup, and if they do go, they will be roasted in America! In short, they cannot survive."

In a subsequent commentary post, the Ansarullah Yemen Group launched a scathing attack on the opposition network's presenters. The channel stated these mercenaries make money from selling their country, contrasting the treasonous money of the broadcasters—which it likened to pimping—with the hard-earned money of the zealous Iranian athletes.