Who ever said that politics has no place in the World Cup? After the dramatic US loss to Ghana in the World Cup last weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the following to Tehran Emrouz newspaper:
In this World Cup you see a meaningful correlation between politics and diplomacy and football…. Those who played a key role in new sanctions against Iran such as America, England and France were eliminated in the early stages and some countries that were somehow involved in sanctions did not get into higher rounds.
Ironically, this comes from the foreign minister of a country that has not qualified for the World Cup since 1998. If Minister Mottaki’s correlation between diplomacy and soccer holds true, what message does Iran’s performance in the tournament convey? Shrewd observers should keep their eyes open for how the Brazilians will fare in the upcoming quarterfinal round.
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
2 Comments
Bill,
Which country should be our priority in the battle against Islamism?Iran,Pakistan or Saudi?
At the moment i feel we are already fighting a proxy war against Iran in Iraq and Pakistan in Afghanistan!
Hmmm, France out in the group stages. US and England out in the Round of 16. Terrible negotiators.
And Iran failed to qualify … what does that make Iran? They didn’t even make it to the table.
And Iraq was the best team in their conference for qualification.
So many ways to read it.
🙂