00:00Today, I'm going to tell you about one of the most awkward soccer matches in the history of the sport.
00:05It's the match between Iran and New Zealand taking place as part of the World Cup group stage in Los
00:10Angeles, California.
00:12Now, this match is a little tricky because the United States and Iran have been, until very recently, in a
00:18state of active war with each other.
00:19Plus, LA is home to the largest expatriate community of Iranians or Persians outside of Iran.
00:26And it's also the home of the Iranian opposition in exile.
00:31So, Iran was reluctant to travel to the United States and, in fact, the team only arrived the night before
00:36the match.
00:37The Iranian team also kicked off one of its stars, Sardar Azman, after he posted a photograph of himself with
00:44the leader of the United Arab Emirates, a key American ally.
00:47President Trump announced over the weekend that he had reached an agreement with the Iranian regime to end the war
00:53and begin a period of 60 days of negotiations toward an agreement on what to do with Iran's remaining nuclear
00:58material.
00:59Now, where this leaves things is really unclear.
01:03Many Iranians in exile had hoped that the regime would fall as a result of the war, but that hasn't
01:08happened.
01:09President Donald Trump appears to have stopped short, perhaps thinking about the high gas prices and the looming midterms.
01:14And perhaps he knows that he's weakened the Iranian regime so much that it will eventually fall over the long
01:21run.
01:22Regardless, there is a message that's being sent by tens of thousands of demonstrators in LA against the Iranian regime
01:29as the soccer team comes to play.
01:31And that is, no matter what the leaders decide, the people of America and the people of Iran stand in
01:37solidarity in pursuit of freedom together.
01:39And that one day when the regime falls, the Iranian national soccer team can visit as often as it likes.
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