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MFA Agri Services River Hills - CLICK - MFA CONNECT Perryville, Farmington Bulk Plant, & Ste. Genevieve, MO.
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03/10 17:27 CDT 2 more members of the Iranian women's soccer team have been
granted asylum in Australia
2 more members of the Iranian women's soccer team have been granted asylum in
Australia
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) --- Two more members of the Iranian women's soccer
team were granted asylum in Australia before their teammates departed, the
country's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday.
The pair has been reunited with five players who were granted humanitarian
visas a day earlier, Burke told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. One of
those in the later group was a player and the other a team staffer, Burke said,
and both sought asylum before their teammates were transported to the airport.
The rest of the team's departure from Sydney, Australia to return to Iran late
Tuesday local time happened during fraught and outraged protest at the team's
hotel and at the airport, where Iranian Australians sought to prevent the women
from leaving the country, citing fears for their safety in Iran.
Their flight departed late Tuesday.
Burke said that as the women passed through security at Australia's border,
they were each taken aside individually by Australian officials and
interpreters, without minders present, and were made offers of asylum.
"They were given a choice," he said. "In that situation what we made sure of
was that there was no rushing, there was no pressure."
Those who have sought asylum received temporary humanitarian visas, which have
a pathway to permanent residency in Australia, Burke said.
The Iranian team arrived in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month,
before the Iran war began on Feb. 28. The team was knocked out of the
tournament over the weekend and faced the prospect of returning to a country
under bombardment.
