The last time was at the 1998 tournament in France — a totally different time in the Islamic Republic. Iran won 2-1 in Lyon, a low point for the U.S. men’s team as Iranians celebrated in Tehran.

At the time, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Iranian team, saying “the strong and arrogant opponent felt the bitter taste of defeat.”

But off the pitch, Iran’s then-president, Mohammad Khatami, sought to improve ties to the West and the wider world. Inside Iran, Khatami pushed so-called “reformist” policies, seeking to liberalize aspects of its theocracy while maintaining its structure with a supreme leader at the top.

U.S. President Bill Clinton and his administration hoped Khatami’s election could be part of a thaw.

The two teams posed for a joint photograph, and the Iranian players handed white flowers to their American opponents. The U.S. gave the Iranians U.S. Soccer Federation pennants. They even exchanged jerseys, though the Iranians didn’t put them on. They later played a friendly in Pasadena, California, as well.

Fast-forward 24 years later, and relations are perhaps more tense than they’ve ever been.

Iran is now governed entirely by hard-liners after the election of President Ebrahim Raisi, a protege of Khamenei, who took part in the 1988 mass execution of thousands of political prisoners at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.

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https://apnews.com/article/world-cup-iran-sports-soccer-qatar-37f747e3b10c9d326e9bcd1e3b893732