Iran accused of ‘attempting to kidnap’ former footballer and regime critic Ali Karimi

Karimi now lives in the United Arab Emirates and has supported a number of protests in his native Iran

Ali Karimi played 127 times for the Iranian national team (AFP via Getty Images)

Friends of former Iran captain Ali Karimi have alleged that the Iranian government attempted to kidnap the 43-year-old after Karimi expressed support for protests in the country.

Authorities in Tehran have issued an arrest warrant for the former footballer, who won 127 caps between 1998 and 2002.

They accuse Karimi, who now lives in Dubai after spending four seasons in the UAE during his playing career, of “collusion with the intention of acting against national security” after he expressed his support for protestors in Iran.

Widespread demonstations have been held in the country after the death of Mahsa Amini last month.

The 22-year-old was taken into custody having been arrested for not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards, and subsequently died in a hospital in the Iranian capital.

Karimi has repeatedly expressed support for protestors and alleged last week in a tweet that he and his family had since been “threatened”.

“I thank my countrymen who are worried about my humble self,” Karimi wrote. “I and my family have been threatened and are threatened in various ways. But I am not important.

“I still mourn my countrymen across Iran and all my pain and sorrow is the safety of the people in my homeland.”

Mehdi Rostampour, a friend of Karimi, has now suggested that authorities attempted to force him back to Iran.

Rostampour alleges that a “celebrity” with links to the Iranian government asked to meet Karimi in the Emirati port city of Fujairah, saying he wished to leave the country.

But, according to Rostampour, Karimi was subsequently informed that it was a “trap”, alleging that the plan was to take the former footballer back to Iran and force him to record a confession to air on state television.

“Just before the set time, [Ali Karimi] received a text from a friend saying ‘Fujairah is a trap’,” Rostampour wrote.

“Who was the sender? Someone from within the intelligence ministry.”

Mourners gathered on Wednesday at the grave of Amini at a cemetery in Saqqez, her hometown in the province of Kurdistan in the west of Iran, to mark 40 days since her death and the end of the traditional Iranian mourning period.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) has alleged that 141 demonstrators had been killed during a crackdown on protests, while Amnesty International has said that at least 23 children have been killed.