00:02Australia has granted asylum to five members of Iran's women's national soccer team.
00:07They were in the country for a tournament when the war broke out in Iran.
00:10The decision comes after Iranian groups in Australia and even President Trump
00:15urged the government to offer them protection.
00:18Early Tuesday morning, police escorted the five players from their hotel on the Gold Coast
00:23to what officials called a safe location after they requested asylum.
00:28Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says he met with the players
00:31before their humanitarian visas were approved.
00:34Now, the team drew global attention last week when the players refused to sing Iran's national anthem
00:39before their first match in Australia.
00:42Iranian state media later branded them traitors, calling the move, quote,
00:46the pinnacle of dishonor.
00:47It's a 26-person team.
00:50Burke says the rest of the team has also been offered the opportunity to stay in Australia.
00:54Australia has taken the Iranian women's soccer team into our hearts.
01:00These women are tremendously popular in Australia,
01:03but we realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they're making.
01:10But the opportunity will continue to be there for them to talk to Australian officials if they wish to.
01:16These women have been weighing up an incredibly difficult decision, incredibly difficult decision.
01:23And I respect that, you know, even though the offer continues to be there for other members of the team,
01:30it is quite possible and indeed likely that not every woman on the team will make a decision
01:36to take up the opportunity that Australia would offer to them.
01:41What matters here is that they have the best agency they can over those decisions.
01:45It's not clear when the other players are expected to return to Iran,
01:49but tensions grew Tuesday when protesters tried to block a bus
01:53reportedly carrying members of that team from their hotel.
01:56Local media report the team later boarded a flight from Gold Coast Airport.
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