Iranian footballer Ramin Razian praised the Iranian attack tonight (between Saturday and Sunday) on Israel. Razian wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account: "We are the Iranian people and we do not pay ransom to anyone." Beneath his tweet, Razian pasted a picture of soldiers/knights on horses and carrying the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Many Iranian citizens oppose the fundamentalist mob rule, but street protests have for many years been met with murderous violence by the police and Revolutionary Guards affiliates. The 34-year-old Razian was recently chosen as the "footballer of the season" in the Iranian league. He wore the uniform of the Iranian national team 65 times and represented it in the World Cups in 2018 and 2022. He also played for the Turkish Breezspor, the Belgian Ostend and several teams in Qatar. He is the son of the former Iranian international footballer, Ali Razian, who played in the 1980s and 1990s.