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Iran: Enemies deserved to crash out of World Cup

Iran did not qualify for the tournament in South Africa but fans have been glued to their televisions nonetheless in a country where football is the number one sport.

While the United States - often referred to by Iran's leaders as "the great Satan" - were never a favourite at the tournament, the elimination of England and France before the quarter-finals was a crushing blow to their fans back home.

"Whatever we witness today in the international political arena has been identically manifested in the 19th tournament of the World Cup," Mottaki was quoted as saying by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

"Those countries which played a key role in imposing new sanctions against Iran - like England, America and France - were all eliminated in the preliminary phases," he said.

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