Soccer fans sent a message to Washington on Iran — deal or no deal
- US News
- World News
- Page Six
- Sports
- Post Sports+
- Sports Betting
- Business
- Opinion
- Entertainment
- Shopping
- Lifestyle
- Health
- Real Estate
- Alexa
- Media
- Tech
- Science
- Astrology
- Video
- Photos
- Pod Force One
- NY POSTcast
Switch between CA and NY editions here.
EditionRecommended
Skip to main content OpinionSoccer fans sent a message to Washington on Iran — deal or no deal
By Lisa Daftari Published June 30, 2026, 6:33 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleTwo games were being played at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15. The first was the Islamic Republic’s World Cup match against New Zealand, its first of the tournament. The second was being played outside, where the Iranian American community organized a large anti-regime demonstration.
Many in the diaspora were not there to watch soccer. They had come to confront the regime on the only piece of American soil where they could, and to send a message to Washington.
The Memorandum of Understanding may have been signed with Iran, but the Iranian people have not signed onto it.
The protesters carried signs that said “42,000.” That is the number of Iranians reportedly killed by the Islamic Republic in January, documented by human rights organizations. They passed out T-shirts with the faces of the young men and women rounded up during the January uprisings, tried in revolutionary courts behind closed doors and executed.
I have covered this community for more than two decades. This was not protest theater. They were there to make a policy statement the only way the diaspora can.
The crowd chanted for King Reza Pahlavi. They chanted death to the Islamic Republic. They chanted “terrorist” at the regime’s representatives walking into the stadium. They flew the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag the regime calls illegitimate. FIFA, at the regime’s request, had tried to ban it inside the stadium.
Iranian American advocacy organizations appealed through FIFA’s own process and lost. They went to federal court seeking a restraining order and lost again. The diaspora was told, in effect, that on US soil during an American-hosted tournament, the symbolic preferences of the Islamic Republic outweighed the First Amendment rights of Iranian Americans.
They came anyway. They brought the flags anyway. Tehran was watching. So was Washington.
Every previous US administration has negotiated with the regime while ignoring the needs, human rights and security of the Iranian people. The diaspora was telling the Trump administration not to make the same mistake.
The Iranian people are not a challenge or an afterthought. They are a constituency. And they have been a reliable anti-regime force and American ally against a terrorist government for 47 years.
The MOU is a framework, not a final deal. There is still time. The Iranian American community is asking President Donald Trump to remember who built his political leverage going into Operation Epic Fury and beyond. The policy of “maximum pressure” worked because the Iranian people made it work from the inside. The protests of 2009, 2017, 2019, 2022 and January 2026 are the reason why this regime came to the table at all.
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter
California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.
Thanks for signing up!
Yet every time the regime came close to collapse, an outside power threw it a lifeline. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was one such lifeline. The diaspora outside the stadium is telling the administration not to make the MOU the next lifeline.
President Trump may be willing to look past the transgressions of the regime in pursuit of a deal. The Iranian people are not. They are not going to forgive a system that executed their children. And they are not going to accept a peace negotiated in their name but signed without their consent.
A few things should follow from what Washington heard outside LA’s stadium.
President Trump has an opportunity here that no recent president has had. The regime is weaker than it has been since 1979. The Iranian American community is the most informed, pro-democracy advocacy bloc on this question in the country. They are asking for a policy that does not reward the regime they fled.
The Iranian people have lived under this regime for 47 years. They have buried its victims. They have watched every Western government that ever tried to negotiate with it repeat the same mistakes, convinced the next round would be different, and they have watched the regime pocket every concession and come back for more.
The diaspora outside the stadium was telling the world what it has been telling Washington for a generation. This regime was not built to compromise. It was not built to play nice. It does not deserve the deal it is being offered.
Washington should listen to the Iranian people, because they have earned the right to be heard.
Lisa Daftari is a foreign policy analyst and media commentator based in Los Angeles.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!
California Post App: Download here!
Home delivery: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
Filed under Read Next Mamdani is socializing housing in NYC, costing taxpayers b...
Trending Now on NYPost.com
-
This story has been shared 94,014 times.
94,014
Mystery of explosive diarrhea parasite outbreak in the US — as experts try to figure out what’s causing it
-
This story has been shared 76,218 times.
76,218
Cops who busted smiling sisters Cookie and Kitty offer hint at motive for Texas mom’s murder
-
This story has been shared 49,622 times.
49,622
Boyfriend desperately tried to save hiker as massive alligator ripped her apart in three feet of water
Most Commented Join the conversation
-
This story has 2.1K comments.
2.1K
Trump issues dire warning about fate of Iran after punishing Islamic Republic for Strait of Hormuz attacks
-
This story has 1.7K comments.
1.7K
Supreme Court rules ballots arriving after Election Day can be counted, in win for Dems
-
This story has 1.6K comments.
1.6K
JD Vance tells Bill Maher how ‘America wins’ with or without Iran deal
Columnists
-
Nicole Gelinas
Mamdani is socializing housing in NYC, costing taxpayers billions
-
Daniel McCarthy
Bill Maher got the award, but Trump’s free-speech impact is the real prize
-
Cindy Adams
Summer is the time to see the world — and hunt for deals
See All Columnists
More Stories
Page Six
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is now streaming — Here’s how to watch at home
Decider
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Agent Kim Reactivated’ On Netflix, Where A Mild-Mannered Office Worker Dregs Up His Black Ops Past When His Daughter Goes Missing
NYPost
Mystery of explosive diarrhea parasite outbreak in the US — as experts try to figure out what’s causing it
© 2026 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved Terms of Use Subscription Terms Privacy Notice SitemapYour California Privacy Rights
White House task force gathers intelligence documents, seeking to amplify Trump’s election claims, sources say
EXCLUSIVE
FORSUBSCRIBERSWhite HouseWhite House task force gathers intelligence documents, seeking to amplify Trump’s election claims, sources say
They have been quietly reviewing documents for months, sometimes late into the night, sources say.Listen to this article00:0000:00
WASHINGTON — A White House task force is gathering thousands of pages of documents from U.S. intelligence agencies, with plans to declassify some of them, so President Donald Trump can amplify new accusations about past elections, three people familiar with the effort said.
Just a moment.
We are getting your experience ready.
Could the Lions and Saints go worst to first in 2026?
Could the Lions and Saints go worst to first in 2026?Yahoo Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon and NFL analyst Nate Tice identify the New Orleans Saints as the definitive answer for the team most likely to leap from last in their division to a playoff spot, while also making a case for the Detroit Lions in the loaded NFC North. Check out the full conversation on “Football 301” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.1:57Now PlayingPaused
Will Lions rebound, reclaim NFC North title in 2026?1:11Now PlayingPausedDetroit Lions Are Betting Favorites To Win NFC North in 20261:38Now PlayingPaused
NFL Predictions: Could Detroit Have the Best Record in 2026?1:25Now PlayingPaused
Can Lions turn things around in 2026? 'GMFB'4:23Now PlayingPaused
Are The New Orleans Saints The Best Bet To Go From Worst To First In 2026?2:41Now PlayingPaused
PODCAST: Should the Saints be the AFC South Favorites?1:00:38Now PlayingPaused
What Positions Groups Are Weaknesses for New Orleans Saints?2:35Now PlayingPaused
2025 NFL Re-Draft Has Two Saints On The Move2:33Now PlayingPaused
Three Bold SI Detroit Lions 2026 NFL Predictions Revealed1:38Now PlayingPaused
Could the Lions and Saints go worst to first in 2026?
Nate Tice·Matt HarmonTue, June 30, 2026 at 11:12 PM UTCYahoo Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon and NFL analyst Nate Tice identify the New Orleans Saints as the definitive answer for the team most likely to leap from last in their division to a playoff spot, while also making a case for the Detroit Lions in the loaded NFC North. Check out the full conversation on “Football 301” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
AdvertisementAdvertisementVideo Transcript
Well I think the, yeah, the ob- the obvious answer finishing last in their division would be the Lions theoretically finished last in the NFC North, and they, even though that's a really- They did that's a really difficult division.
Obviously, lotta good players.
I mean, like, excuse me, a lotta good teams in the NFC South.
Excuse me, I just spoiled then the, the answer that I think is, our, our other one.
it would be the Lions would be the NFC- We'll get there.
We'll get there yeah.
We're professional podcasters.
We'll get there.
Right, totally, we're good at this.
I did say I was rusty.
AdvertisementAdvertisementI warned everybody at the top.
but no, in the NFC North, you know, there's a lotta good teams, but the Lions still could- Mm-hmm be a very good team and, and win that division.
Mm-hmm.
But yes, I th- I'm guessing that your obvious answer was the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South- Yeah which I, I just spoiled there.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that's the easiest answer.
I think they're everyone's favorite, but it's one of those where it's like, you know, I have a little hipster in me, and I'm, like, always trying to go, like, "Oh, well you say this, but I think this."
And it's like, no, no, I get the Saints.
AdvertisementAdvertisementLike, I, I get the hype.
They built the whole line.
They added, added auxiliary receivers.
You know, Etienne's not my favorite, but I actually like it for that back field, 'cause I like Devin Neal too to pair with him, and whoever's going with Kamara.
The defense was kinda underrated last year.
Yeah.
I think their defense was, like, 11th in weighted DVOA at the end of the year, and so again, they're playing a weak division.
I think the Bucs are getting slept on a little bit, but I do think that the, the Saints are, like, probably the definitive answer here.
And then if we expand it to losing record and can make a playoff run, is there any others that capture your attention?
AdvertisementAdvertisementI, I, the Lions is a good technically true answer as well.
'Cause Cowboys was for me.
Cowboys are- Yeah like, you know, that was one, 'cause I, I have all the stock on the Cowboys right now.
Like Chiefs, I guess.
Clearly.
Bengals, Ravens.
That feels like cheating though.
Those guys, those teams already did it.
You know?
They've already, they've already had some pretty, some winning seasons very recently.
So the, it kinda feels like the Saints are just the cleanest answer, and I liked your Lions shout-out too.
- Could the Lions and Saints go worst to first in 2026?Yahoo Sports fantasy analyst Matt Harmon and NFL analyst Nate Tice identify the New Orleans Saints as the definitive answer for the team most likely to leap from last in their division to a playoff spot, while also making a case for the Detroit Lions in the loaded NFC North. Check out the full conversation on “Football 301” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.1:57Now PlayingPaused
- Will Lions rebound, reclaim NFC North title in 2026?1:11Now PlayingPaused
