A high-cost and useless show of power
A high-cost and useless show of power: According to Iran Gate, returning the plane after crossing the border while all passengers had legally completed the passport police procedures at the airport.
And near the destination, Dubai, the plane suddenly decided not to land at Dubai Airport and headed towards Kish, landing at Kish Airport. Security agents boarded the plane and removed two passengers, not allowing them to continue their journey.
These two passengers, a young woman and her teenage daughter, were neither arrested nor interrogated; they were simply deplaned and prevented from traveling to Dubai, despite not being banned from leaving the country.
These two passengers are the wife and daughter of Iran’s national football legend and world top scorer Ali Daei. Apparently, Ali Daei’s statements and support for recent protests and his backing of the protesting people have not been without cost for him.
It should be noted that Ali Daei’s wife, a successful businesswoman in the jewelry trade, has always supported the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement and has even demonstrated her support by closing her jewelry store during strikes. It seems this action by the security apparatus was a warning to the Daei family.
Reactions to this incident
On Monday, Ali Daei reacted to the incident by telling ISNA news agency that his wife and daughter boarded the plane legally from Imam Khomeini Airport to go to Dubai, but the Mahan Airlines plane was returned from Dubai and landed in Kish. I am now following up on their situation to bring them back to Tehran from Kish.
He said that after my daughter and wife were deplaned, an hour later, they said that your daughter can go, but when my daughter wanted to leave, they said the plane doors are closed, and she also cannot go. In response to the question of whether his wife and daughter were banned from leaving the country, he said if they were banned, the passport police system should have shown it.
No one has given me an answer about this matter. I really don’t know the reason for these actions. Did they want to arrest a terrorist? My wife and daughter were supposed to go to Dubai for a few days and return. Even their return flight was scheduled for next Monday.
This action sparked many reactions, with journalist Mohammad Hassan Najmi tweeting that the last time a plane was landed at an airport other than its destination and was publicized was to arrest Abdolmalek Rigi. This time it involved Ali Daei’s wife and daughter. Are Ali Daei’s wife and daughter as dangerous as Rigi or what? He added if there was a problem, why weren’t they arrested? If there wasn’t, why were they returned?
Another journalist, Mohammad Hossein Nejati, tweeted that being a dictator and oppressor is one thing, but being a stupid dictator and oppressor is another. Political activist Ali Afshari also tweeted that the spite and resentment of the intelligence agencies against Ali Daei, the prince of Iranian football, is a clear sign of the irredeemability, belligerence, and foolishness of the Islamic Republic’s rulers. He added that this action, besides being vengeful, indicates fear.
Iman Saffati, a journalist for Germany’s Bild, wrote that the region’s top power was afraid of Ali Daei’s wife and daughter leaving. However, Kian Abdollahi, who introduced himself as the editor-in-chief of Tasnim news agency, tweeted that Ali Daei’s daughter had no problem traveling and chose not to continue her journey. Ali Daei’s wife’s final destination was to travel to the United States.
On the other hand, Saeed Dehghan, a lawyer, tweeted that in the Islamic Republic, you can be banned from leaving the country even if you are not a criminal or convicted.
Tasnim: Ali Daei’s wife and Ali Daei were banned from leaving the country by a decision of the National Security Council.
An informed source told Tasnim news agency that Ali Daei’s wife was banned from leaving the country by a judicial order due to her involvement in riots and incitement to strike during the periods of November 15-17 and December 5-7.
However, she illegally lifted her travel ban and boarded today’s Tehran-Dubai flight, but before she could leave the country, she was prevented from traveling to Dubai by a judicial order and a decision of the National Security Council.
Accordingly, there was no arrest in this case, and Ali Daei’s wife, after being deplaned, is on her way to Tehran. Additionally, Ali Daei’s daughter had no problem traveling and chose not to continue her journey. Ali Daei’s wife’s final destination was to travel to the United States.
Ali Daei: The claim that my wife and daughter intended to travel to the United States is false. Here is their return ticket.
According to Tabnak Sports, in recent months, Ali Daei, a prominent figure in the history of Iranian and world football, had his passport confiscated at the airport by judicial order, which made headlines, but shortly after, news of the return of the former world top scorer’s passport was published. Ali Daei has discussed the details and reasons for this action exclusively with Tabnak.
The issue of deplaning your wife and daughter from the Mahan Airlines flight bound for Dubai has caused much speculation. What exactly happened, especially before the trip, to your family?
Look, we don’t have the gift of foresight to know before arriving at the airport whether we have permission to leave the country. My wife, along with my daughter, went to the airport this morning, and after checking in their luggage and passing through the inspection gate, they passed through the airport police passport control, received the legal stamp, and the legal exit permit from the country, and boarded the Mahan Airlines flight to Dubai.
My wife and daughter’s tickets are available, and people can see the issue date and their return date. Ali Daei provided the media with images of his wife and child’s round-trip tickets for publication, which you can see.
Costly and futile
Such a display of power, although designed and executed to instill fear in influential figures in sports and the arts, can easily be seen through the reactions in the media and social networks that such actions work against themselves instead of achieving the pre-designed goal.
The fact that the National Security Council would convene to remove a national hero’s wife and child from a plane and prevent them from traveling severely diminishes and questions the dignity and status of this institution.
News of this incident quickly spread in international media, and most political experts and commentators of these media were astonished by such an action. It seems that in a time of crisis, when decisions of prudence and patience should be made to control the situation and manage the crisis, the country’s security managers are trying to create a crisis to overcome previous crises, the result of which is obvious.