Iranian Diaspora Divided on World Cup Team Support

Iran's national soccer team is preparing for its seventh World Cup appearance, but members of the Iranian diaspora in the United States face deep divisions over whether to support the squad amid ongoing political repression at home and the country's war with the United States and Israel. The team's first-round match against New Zealand is scheduled for June 15 near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran, where many residents fled following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Arad Ershad, a graduate student in New York who grew up in Tehran, exemplifies the turmoil. He once planned to buy tickets to attend the game but changed his mind after players he admired as a child remained silent during the Iranian government's deadly crackdown on protesters in January. "It feels so bad that I do not want them to succeed. They were like my icons, my legends," Ershad said during a recent pickup soccer game on Long Island. "I know playing a World Cup is the biggest thing a soccer player can achieve in his life, but how can you just be silent?"

The men's team, known as Team Melli, has long been entangled in politics. Before a recent match in Turkey, players carried small...