Shaimaa Khalil

You know, it felt like two different Irans, two different Iranian crowds.

It almost felt like Iran versus Iran, if you will, in the sense that obviously there's been so much build up, so much controversy.

There's already been a pregame

you know, demonstration that I've been to.

And when I was outside, it was clear what the sentiment was like, at least in terms of the chants, the anti-regime chants, the anti-team chants.

Many of the people there are saying, look, we cannot separate the team from the regime.

To us, they don't represent us.

They represent the Islamic Republic.

And those are very specific

group of people.

These are the people who are anti the Islamic Republic.

They are mainly monarchists.

And they were there because they wanted to carry the pre-Iranian Revolution flag, the Islamic Revolution flag, so the line and sun flag.

And they were protesting because FIFA had banned it.

But they were also there, as they told me,

to make sure that their voices are heard, that they're not there to support the team, right?

And so that in a way was the more straightforward bit because you're like, okay, so this team is facing visa issues and security issues and immigration issues.

They're also facing this crowd.

Then it gets more nuanced.

As we get closer to the stadium, you see people going in and then we ask them, well, how do you feel about that?