The contest between the two nations, who severed ties more than 40 years ago, was held with increased security to prevent a flare-up over the unrest that has gripped Iran since the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16.
U.S.-Iranian tensions have worsened since 2018 when then-President Donald Trump abandoned Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. Efforts to salvage the pact under President Joe Biden’s administration have stalled. But for fans attending the first World Cup in the Middle East, or watching across the world, Iran’s domestic politics and its four decades of troubled relations with the United States formed the dominant backdrop to the sporting contest.
A Qatari official said before the match that authorities would ensure all matches were “safe and welcoming for all spectators”. Items that “could increase tensions and risk the safety of fans” would not be permitted at stadiums. He raised his shirt to show a T-shirt underneath with the protesters’ slogan: “Woman, Life, Freedom”.