Iranian American soccer fans are torn between pride and protest as the World Cup nears

With Iran qualifying for the World Cup, Arad Ershad had visions of splurging on flights and tickets to attend one of the team’s upcoming first-round matches in Los Angeles. Ershad is one of many diehard soccer fans in the Iranian diaspora with conflicting emotions as Team Melli — the Persian nickname for Iran's national squad — prepares for its seventh World Cup. Iran is set to begin its campaign against New Zealand on June 15 near Los Angeles, a region that's home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran, including many who fled the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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