the Iranian football federation
has vowed to, quote, deal with
beach football players who
protested this week during an
international tournament.
Shortly after scoring the
winning goal, at the emirates
intercontinental beach soccer
club in dubai, player, zaid --
mimicked cutting his hair.
There you see it in that video.
It was a move that signaled
support for the protesters in
Iran, calling for greater
freedoms for women.
And just before the match
started, the team did not sing
for the national anthem.
Meantime, a uk-based news
channel is accusing Iran of
plotting to kill two of its
journalists, who have
extensively covered the
protests.
Let's bring in CNN's --
mourning us now from istanbul.
So walk us through what the
potential consequences may be
for these soccer players who
appeared to support the
protesters back home in Iran.
>> Well, we don't know, the
sane.
I mean, everyone is waiting to
see what dealt with, you know,
they will be dealt with
actually means, what the regime
is going to do, how they are
going to be punished.
All we know is there's a lot of
concern for their safety right
now, after the team arrived in
Iran on Monday.
Journalists were waiting for
them outside the airport, but
they were not allowed to speak
with them.
So, we will have to see how
this develops in the coming
hours and days.
But, you know is a, this is, as
you know very well, not the
first time that we're seeing
this happening.
Over the past few weeks, you've
had several incidents with
athletes, Iranians, competing
outside the country showing
their support and their
solidarity with the protesters.
And I suspect this is kind of
embarrassing for the regime
that has really been trying to
push this narrative that this
is some sort of a foreign
conspiracy, these protests that
we've been seeing in the
country.
>> Also, let's talk about this
apparent plot to assassinate or
kill two uk-based Iranian
journalists.
What more do you know on that
front?
>> Well, Zain, very disturbing
developments over the past 24
hours.
We've had two organizations
that have been covering the
protests over the past couple
of months now, very extensively,
really, reporting that their
staff members are facing very
serious threats from the
revolutionary guard corps and
from the Iranian regime.
As you mentioned, Iran
international, this is a
24-hour news channel based in
London.
And they say that two of their
British Iranian journalists
have been notified by the
metropolitan police of threats
they say that represent a
credible, significant, and
imminent danger to their lives
and the lives of their
families.
Now, Iran international has
said that they have been warned
over the past few weeks.
There have been warnings issued
by the irgc for the channels
coverage.
We also know that the regime
has been sitting singling out
and accusing Iran international
of trying to push forward
foreign agendas, accusing them
of really representing the
Saudi agenda, saying that
they're funded by Saudi.
We know there have been reports
in the past that the network is
Saudi funded.
Something that Iran
international has denied.
And at the same time, Zain,
we're hearing from hang out
network for human rights,
organization for human rights,
who I know you've interviewed
their staff members in the past.
We've been doing really
important and critical work
over the past few weeks,
reporting on the protests and
documenting the crackdowns,
especially in the kurdish
region of Iran.
They say that two of their
staff members who are based in
northern Iran, in the kurdish
region there, have been facing
increasing and serious risks,
threats by the irgc.
And they're calling on Iraq's
kurdish kurdish and regional
government to protect these
employees.
Zane, this is nothing new.
We have, in the past, had these
reports of threats and plots by
the Iranian regime, targeting
journalists, dissidents, and
activists outside of the
country.
But of course, this is coming
at a time where they're trying
to crush dissent in the country,
where they're trying to silence
journalists with dozens who
have been arrested since the
protests began.
And now it seems that the
regime is trying to intimidate
and threaten journalists and
activists far beyond its
borders.
We have to mention that the
regime has not commented yet on
these reports.