Iran
![U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell holds up a vial that he described as one that could contain anthrax, during his presentation on [Iraq] to the U.N. Security Council, in New York February 5, 2003. [Powell tried to persuade a sceptical world that Iraq is concealing it's weapons of mass destruction and that force may be necessary to disarm it.]](https://i0.wp.com/www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2003-02-05T120000Z_553139269_PBEAHUORSAU_RTRMADP_3_POWELL.jpg?w=234&crop=0%2C23px%2C100%2C134px&ssl=1)
There are many Iranians who clearly felt embittered towards the national team for some of the signs of allegiance to the system, which are, of course, impossible to avoid for players on a team such as this... [The national team] met with the president before their departure for Doha. And those photos created some backlash... For any Iranian, the estrangement with Washington has essentially shaped their future...There’s a particular sense, I imagine a bitterness, associated with a loss.
The critics of the [Iranian nuclear] deal, both then and now, have not provided a better mechanism other than continued sanctions, and that simply hasn’t done the trick.