The flag Iranians are not allowed to wave at the World Cup

Image caption, The flag of the pre-1979 Islamic revolution, featuring a lion and a sun, is banned from stadiums at the World Cup By Shaimaa Khalil North America correspondent Published 9 minutes ago "The Iranian team is not playing. The Islamic Republic's team is." For Roozbeh Farahanipour, there is no separating football from politics. Before Iran has kicked a ball in Los Angeles, the team's presence at this World Cup is already fraught. Farahanipour, an Iranian-American activist and chief executive of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, fled Iran in 2000 after years of political activism. Since then, he has built a life in Los Angeles, home to one of the world's largest Iranian communities outside Iran. The neighbourhood of Westwood, on Los Angeles' west side, has long been known as "Tehrangeles". Farahanipour's opposition to the government in Tehran is deeply personal. "My mother was killed. My cousin and friends were killed," he says. "There is no peace between me and this regime." Yet he rejects the idea that the answer lies in war. "I hate this regime and I hate this war," he says. "Nothing justifies killing innocent people." Those contradictions are becoming increasingly familiar for Iranian Americans as Iran prepares to play two World Cup matches in Los Angeles, and one in Seattle. These are difficult times to be an Iranian football fan especially here in the US. Iran is a football-loving nation, and many here have followed Team Melli, the country's national team, for years. But this World Cup arrives amid a fragile ceasefire, continuing hostility between Iran, the United States and Israel, and deep divisions over what Iran's team represents. Image caption, There have been protests in Los Angeles prior to the World Cup Outside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where Iran will face New Zealand on 15 June, those tensions are on full display. Opponents of the government in Tehran have gathered waving the Lion and Sun flag. It was Iran's flag from before the 1979 Islamic revolution, and for many here, a symbol of resistance to the current regime. From a distance, they look like Iranian flags. But a closer look reveals the symbol at the heart of the dispute. For protesters here, the Lion and Sun represents Iran. "It is a stance against the Islamic Republic. This is the real flag of Iran," says Arezo Rashidian, one of the protest organisers. The emblem on the national team's jerseys, they argue, represents a government they want gone. That post-revolution flag has the same green, white and red stripes but also features the Islamic emblem of four crescents and a sword in red. The Arabic inscription 'Allahu Akbar' which translates to 'Allah is the greatest' and Muslims recite during prayer, is also featured on the flag. Many of those gathered outside SoFi Stadium accuse the Islamic Republic of using sport to project legitimacy abroad while repressing dissent at home. "Regime change is the goal. We're here to show solidarity with the people of Ir