Iran Tells Women's Soccer Team To Return To Iran
The Iranian Attorney General's Office has called on members of the national women's soccer team to return to the country "in addition to addressing the concerns of their families," according to the judicial body, "to be in the forefront of confronting the conspiracies of the country's enemies."
In the statement, released on March 10, the prosecutor's office did not mention the fact that at least five members of the team have taken refuge in Australia, but wrote: "Some members of our women's soccer team have, unintentionally and with heightened emotions resulting from the conspiracy and mischief of the enemy, behaved in a way that has caused delusional excitement" among the leaders of the United States and Israel.
US President Donald Trump has warned that Australia would make a "very big human mistake" if it allows the team to return to Iran following threats against the athletes for not singing the Islamic republic of Iran's anthem during their first match in Australia.
It was then reported that at least five members of the women's soccer team had applied for asylum, and on the evening of March 9 the Australian Immigration Minister released pictures of his meeting with them and wrote that he had told them that they would be allowed live in safety in Australia.
Araqchi: Talks No Longer On Iran's Agenda
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said talks with Washington are no longer on Iran's agenda and warned that Tehran is prepared to continue missile attacks for "as long as it takes."
"I don't think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda anymore," Araqchi told US broadcaster PBS News on March 9.
"We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes," he said.
Australia Grants Humanitarian Visas For Iran Soccer Players
Australia's Home Affairs Minister has announced that five members of Iran's women's soccer team have been granted humanitarian visas.
Yesterday, we reported on the alarming situation facing members of the national team, after an Iranian state TV presenter denounced them as "wartime traitors" for declining to sing along with their country's national anthem.
Trump: If Iran Disrupts Oil, US Will Hit '20 Times Harder'
US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran disrupts oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will hit "twenty times harder" than they have been hit thus far.
"Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Trump Says Iran Campaign To End 'Very Soon,' Disappointed In Choice Of Khamenei's Son
US President Donald Trump said the military operation launched against Iran last month will end "very soon" and vowed to hit the country "much, much harder" if it blocks oil supplies in the Middle East.
Trump spoke on March 9 after Tehran launched multiple missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states following the announcement that Mojtaba Khamenei would succeed his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader.
"We're winning very decisively. We're way ahead of schedule," Trump told a news conference in Florida.
"It's going to be ended soon." Asked whether it would end this week, he suggested it would not but said: "Soon. very soon."
"I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe's oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level," Trump said.
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After the Iranian women's soccer team declined to sing along with their country's national anthem at an AFC Asian Cup game, an Iranian state TV presenter denounced them as "wartime traitors." Fearing for their safety if they returned to Iran, five of the players reportedly left their training camp in Australia on March 9 to seek asylum there, while their teammates are also still in Australia.
Rubio Says Iran 'Worst Offender' In Hostage-Taking
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pointed to a new US policy aimed at deterring what Washington calls “hostage diplomacy.”
Speaking at the State Department during events marking US Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day on March 9, Rubio said Iran has long used hostage-taking as a diplomatic tool.
“When it comes to hostage taking, there has been no worse offender in the world than the clerical regime in Tehran,” he said.
On February 27, the US formally designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention (SSWD) -- the first country placed on the blacklist under a new law targeting governments that detain foreign nationals for political leverage.
The designation allows the US government to deploy a range of measures -- including sanctions and travel restrictions -- aimed at pressuring Tehran to release detainees.
The March 9 ceremony in Washington also marked the anniversary of the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007.
Christopher Raia, deputy director of the FBI, said evidence now suggests Levinson likely died while in captivity in Iran. “Our evidence suggests that Bob died in captivity in Iran,” Raia said, calling him the longest-held American hostage in US history.
Raia said investigators continue to pursue leads and released posters last year identifying individuals believed responsible for Levinson’s kidnapping, detention, and probable death. “The urgency to uncover the facts of Bob’s disappearance has never been greater,” he said.
UN Human Rights Official Calls For 'Thorough Investigation' Into Strike On Girls' School
Nada Al‑Nashif, the UN deputy high commissioner for human rights, called on March 9 for an “prompt, impartial, and thorough investigation” into a deadly strike on a primary school in the city of Minab.
Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Al-Nashif also cited the Iranian Red Crescent Society as saying that more than 65 schools across Iran had been “damaged or destroyed" since the start of the US-Israeli attacks on February 28
On the first day of those attacks on Iran, local officials in the southern Hormozgan Province said a girls’ school had also been hit, killing dozens of students.
The governor of Minab county updated the death toll on March 8 to 165 killed and 96 wounded.
Several investigative reports now suggest the school was struck because it was located next to a base belonging to the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Trump Suggests Iran War Could End Soon
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the war with Iran could end soon, claiming US forces had largely dismantled Tehran’s military capabilities after 10 days of strikes.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force,” a CBS News reporter wrote on X on March 9, citing comments from Trump. The president also warned Iran against further escalation, saying the country had already “shot everything they have to shoot.”
Trump made the remarks as he sharply criticized the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s supreme leader. Trump told one media outlet he was “not happy” with the decision and told another that Tehran had made “a big mistake.”
In separate interviews, Trump said the United States was “very far” ahead of an initial four-to-five-week timeline for the war and suggested he had a different candidate in mind for Iran’s leadership, though he declined to name anyone.
Iran announced early on March 9 that a group of senior clerics had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, as the country’s new supreme leader. Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps quickly pledged support for him.
Read our full news report here.