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Atefeh Ramezanisadeh (left) and Fatemeh Pasandideh, former members of the Iranian Women’s Football Team, photographed in Brisbane, April 2026.

Asylum-seeking Iranian soccer players declare intent to play in Australia

Iranian footballers Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh have confirmed their desire to remain in Australia to continue their careers.

  • Nick Wright

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Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

Tony Burke has chosen to take on Angus Taylor. It shows Labor also has stakes in this migration debate

Burke’s press conference, which delivered a point-by-point rebuttal of Taylor, was a rare move for a home affairs minister who tends to steer clear of the cameras.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

Hanson scoffs at Taylor’s anti-immigrant pitch

Labor’s Tony Burke also accused the Liberal leader of appealing to Hanson’s voters, while insulting Australia’s many migrant parents.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos and James Massola
The Prime Minister at Lakemba mosque.

Albanese confronted by protesters at Lakemba Mosque

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were attending prayers at the mosque to mark the end of Ramadan.

  • Mostafa Rachwani
It is the second time the electronic monitoring regime has been struck down by the High Court.

High Court strikes down Labor’s ankle-monitoring regime for a second time

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government’s deportation deal with Nauru softened the blow. Six people have so far been sent to the Pacific island, with 27 more issued visas.

  • Natassia Chrysanthos
Some of the Iranians applying to stay in Australia.

Iranian soccer players got asylum overnight. These refugees reveal a very different story

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s intervention was swift and decisive. But it was bittersweet for other refugees trapped in a system described as cruel and unfair.

  • Bevan Shields
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Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke with five Iranian women soccer players who were granted asylum on Monday night. Some of the players have now left Australia.

Burke’s celebration of Iranian players’ asylum now looks more like an own goal

A week ago, a beaming Tony Burke stood alongside five members of the Iranian women’s soccer team. It is now the picture of a cautionary tale.

  • James Massola
Iranian soccer player Fatemeh Pasandideh with FIFA executive and former US women’s coach Jill Ellis.

‘Everything will be fine’: Iranian player poses at Brisbane waterfront as captain flies home

Five members of the Iranian delegation have now abandoned their asylum claims, leaving just two remaining in Australia.

  • Matthew Knott
The three Iranian team members who left on Saturday. There were three players left in Australia on Sunday.

Another Iranian soccer player returns home, amid fears of group infiltration

The news will come as a blow to the Iranian diaspora in Australia, which fears more reversals could follow.

  • Matthew Knott
The Iranian embassy in Canberra, where diplomat Mohammad Pournajaf worked.

Top Iranian diplomat defected, received asylum in secret escape

Iran’s second most senior diplomat in Australia defected from the hardline regime and received asylum in Australia three years ago, a fact that has stayed secret until now.

  • Brittany Busch and Matthew Knott