When Iran takes to the field on Monday for the first game of its World Cup, Sara Barahman will be among the thousands of protesters outside the stadium waving a very specific flag: the one used by the country before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
If these banners —- featuring a lion and sun over green, white, and red stripes —- make it inside the venue, the Iranian team has threatened to halt its match against New Zealand.
But the political science student couldn't care less.
"We don't care if you stop the game. This is not even our team," the 22-year-old Iranian-American told AFP.
"They're not the national team, they're the Islamic government's team," she said. "So, whether they lose or win, we don't care."
