President Trump urged Australia to grant asylum to the Iranian women’s soccer team, warning that the players will “likely be killed” if they are forced to return home. 

Fears have been mounting for the players’ safety ever since the women were branded “wartime traitors” by Iranian state media for refusing to sing their national anthem ahead of their opening match at the Australian-hosted tournament last week.

After being eliminated following a 2-0 loss to the Philippines on Sunday, at least one player was reportedly spotted signing the word “help” through a window as their bus left the stadium, multiple activists claimed.

Five players – Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi – had since sought protection from the Australian Federal Police to avoid having to return to Iran.

Trump initially criticized the Australian government on Truth Social that Monday morning, saying, “Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian Women’s National Soccer team to be forced back to Iran.”

But he later followed up and said he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about granting members of Iranian national women’s soccer team asylum amid fears they’ll be persecuted if they are forced to return home.

Trump heaped praise on his counterpart’s handling of the ordeal soon after it emerged five Iranian players had secretly fled the team hotel in Queensland overnight and sought protection from Australian police following their Women’s Asian Cup loss.

“I just spoke to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, concerning the Iranian National Women’s Soccer Team. He’s on it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social just hours after declaring that Australia was “making a terrible humanitarian mistake” by allowing the team to be sent back home.

“Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families, including threats to those family members if they don’t return,” he continued.

“In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!”

Farideh Shojaei, vice president for women’s affairs at the Iranian Football Federation, said the players left the hotel with cops via a back door, Iranian media reported.

“We have contacted the embassy, the football federation, the foreign ministry, and anywhere possible to see what will happen,” she was quoted as saying.

“We have even spoken with the families of these five players.”

It wasn’t immediately clear which players were intent on going back to Iran.

Earlier, Trump had warned the athletes could potentially be killed if they were made to return to the Islamic Republic following the anthem controversy.

“Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iran National Woman’s Soccer team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed,” Trump initially said on Truth Social.

“The US will take them if you won’t.”

The alarm over the players’ safety kicked off when the female athletes chose to stand in silence during Iran’s anthem during their match against South Korea last week — just as the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. 

State media commentators quickly ripped the move as the “pinnacle of dishonor” and labeled the players “traitors during wartime” who “must be dealt with more severely.”

When the women then sang the anthem and saluted before their second match against Australia, it sparked fears among human rights campaigners that the team had been coerced by government minders.

More than 66,000 people signed a petition calling on the Australian government to ensure the players don’t have to leave the country as calls to protect them ramped up.

Iranian soccer fans also desperately tried to prevent the team bus from leaving the stadium following their elimination from the tournament on Sunday.