Bloomberg columnist and editorial board member, Bobby Ghosh, told MSNBC on Tuesday that Iranians are “celebrating” America’s 1-0 World Cup victory over their country.
Ghosh said he had heard reports from inside the country that many people are so unhappy with the government that they were gleeful to see their team lose to America. While on Deadline: White House, Ghosh told host Nicolle Wallace the game was a “geo-political matchup” as much as it was a soccer game.
“There was a great deal of politics around this game, the Iranian regime is going through a very difficult time with Iranians protesting against their government back home,” he said. “Iranians also are in two minds about whether or not they should support their national team in Qatar at the World Cup.”
Ghosh noted for the U.S. the game was essentially a win-or-go-home match. For Iran, he said, the stakes were higher:
Remarkably, already I’m seeing reports out of Iran that Iranians are celebrating the American victory. That is something I would not in a million years have expected to see in my own lifetime. Which tells you that they hate their regime and they hate the team that represents that regime even more than they were taught to hate the United States.
The U.S. defeated Iran 1-0 during a tense 99-minutes Tuesday in Doha to advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has been gripped by protests in recent months that have left hundreds reportedly dead. Tensions spilled out into the streets after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in September after she was placed in police custody for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
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