Incident involved iranian football legend ali daei, his wife mona farrokhazari and daughter. the flight they were on was rerouted to an iranian island in the gulf and they were removed from the plane. the rerouting occurred in december, after ali daei had voiced his support for the anti-government protests in the country. the flight was rerouted to kish island, where ali daei’s wife and daughter got off the plane.
Rerouting of the flight appears to be connected to the death in custody of iranian-kurd mahsa amini, 22, in september. ali daei had been vocal in his support for the mass protests that followed the death and his wife had pledged to inform officials before leaving the country due to their association with the groups against the islamic revolution. iranian authorities have banned several celebrities, artists and prominent figures from leaving the country in the wake of the protests.
Reason was given for the rerouting of the flight and the pair are returning to tehran. ali daei is one of iran’s most famous sports figures and a former captain of the national football team. he is well-known for scoring 109 goals at an international level in the 1990s and early 2000s. his jewellery shop and restaurant in tehran was shut down by the judiciary earlier in december. it is possible that the rerouting of the flight was done in order to prevent ali daei’s wife and daughter from leaving the country.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64097382?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
