Iran captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh admitted in a press conference ahead of the his side's game against England, that the team is debating whether they should sing the national anthem as a sign of protest against the harsh repressive action in response to protests which have taken place in his country. These started after Mahsa Amini's death, allegedly tortured and killed by the police for not wearing the hiyab.
The laws of the Islamic Republic lay down the law in Iran, where protests and police repression are going on because of some citizens' rebellion. It all started after the supposed murder of Mahda Amini, a citizen who was supposedly tortured by the police after being arrested for not wearing the veil known as a hiyab, which is worn to cover Muslim womens' hair.
Therefore, the Iran national team may not sing their own national anthem on their World Cup debut, to show their indignation of their country's authorities' and government's behaviour. This is not information that has been passed on, and it is not a prediction either, but it is a possibility that the team's captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh admitted in a press conference ahead of his side's first game against England.
"We're debating the idea to come to a collective decision. We're here to do our job, and what we have to do is play football, and that's what we're concentrated on at the moment. Since I was a kid, I've dreamed about playing for my country, and so have my teammates. We're here to honour the national team's shirt and our country, and to take back a happiness to our city", he said.
"As for the goal celebrations, that's something completely personal, and unique to each player. We're four days away from the most important game of our lives and we're focused on the World Cup", he said before adding that him and his compatriots are "concentrated on the most important tournament of our careers, and trying to make our compatriots happy by advancing for the first time in history, to the knock-out stages of a World Cup".