On Wednesday night, the number of people in the Iranian squad who had been granted asylum rose to seven after another player and a manager were approved to stay.
A few hours later, Australia's Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed that one of them had changed his mind and contacted the Iranian embassy to be picked up from the secret address where the squad was located.
"As a result, the Iranian embassy found out where everyone was. I immediately ordered everyone to be moved from there and that happened immediately," Burke said, according to the AFP news agency.
Called 'war traitors'
The Iranian women's national team was in Australia playing in the Asian Championship when the war in Iran broke out. At the opening match, the players did not sing the national anthem, which led to them being branded as "war traitors" on Iranian state television.
Although they sang the national anthem in later matches, many believe the damage has already been done. Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah of Iran who was overthrown in 1979, is one of them.
"I urge the Australian government to guarantee their safety and provide them with all the support they need," Pahlavi wrote on social media on Sunday.
Others have left
After being knocked out of the tournament, five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, fled the team's hotel in Australia to seek asylum. Two more members of the Iranian squad, a player and a manager, were promised asylum and reportedly accepted it at the airport before the team was due to leave Sydney on Tuesday night.
The rest of the national team flew to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur where they are waiting for the next flight back to Iran, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said.
