(AP/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
By Isabel Debre - November 11, 2022
AP — Qatar may hope soccer fans ignore politics at the first World Cup in the Middle East. But Israel and Iran, foes locked in conflicts across the region, are bringing sensitive flashpoints to the tournament’s doorstep.
Israel is not competing, but it sees the massive spectacle as a way to further integrate into the Middle East after establishing ties with two of Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbors. Thousands of Israeli tourists, long shunned, are expected to fly to the Qatari capital of Doha on unprecedented direct flights.
Iran, convulsed by protests that erupted over the Sept. 16 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the country’s morality police, has much at stake. The pitch could provide Iranian activists with a vast audience for a protest. Or it could deliver Iran a victory on the world stage in a first-round match against its rival, the United States.
The tournament’s location in the Persian Gulf emirate, just a short flight away from Israel and Iran, adds another layer of tension. Iranian and Israeli fans have rubbed shoulders at World Cups before, but never at such an event in their own backyard.
“It’s always possible for Israeli and Iranian tensions to play out,” said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an Iran expert and college dean at Missouri University of Science and Technology. “One can expect hard-liners to try and make a statement.”
Read More: Times of Israel