Footballer pays best hotel fees to shelter Iranians as Israel conflict rages on
An international footballer has vowed to pay for shelter for Iranians fleeing major cities as the country's conflict with Israel escalates.
Israel began targeting Iran's nuclear and military sites last week, with Iran responding by firing missiles of its own. Israel and US President Donald Trump have since urged Iranians to evacuate the country's biggest cities, especially the capital, Tehran.
However, that is easier said than done for Iranians who do not have second homes in less-populated parts of the country. That has led to Iran international and former Bayer Leverkusen forward Sardar Azmoun stepping forward to offer a month's free accommodation to evacuees.
Azmoun, 30, who is the highest-paid Iranian footballer and was once linked to Liverpool, took to Instagram to make his generous offer. He wrote: "I hope that we may return to brighter and more peaceful days, my proud and dear people.
"In these sensitive times, I tried to arrange a space for the temporary housing of families in Gonbad-e-Kavus, which I have now been able to do.
"First priority is for families with infants, children and the elderly. If you are from anywhere in Iran, especially Tehran, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Esfahan or Shiraz, I will arrange one-month free stay in the best hotel in Gonbad-e-Kavus."
Gonbad-e-Kavus, in northern Iran, has a population of around 150,000. Hotels in this region are relatively inexpensive, with the cheapest rates starting from around £5 per night.
On Thursday, Israel carried out strikes on Iran's Arak heavy water reactor, in its latest attack on the country's nuclear programme. It's the seventh day of a conflict that began with a surprise wave of Israeli airstrikes targeting military sites, senior officers and nuclear scientists.
A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded. In retaliation, Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones, killing at least 24 people in Israel and wounding hundreds.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, will travel to Geneva for the meetings on Friday to meet counterparts from Germany, France and the UK. European diplomats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the meetings.
"All sides must show restraint, refrain from taking steps which lead to further escalation in the region, and return to diplomacy," a joint statement issued on Wednesday by France, Germany, the UK and the EU read.
Azmoun, meanwhile, used to play his club football in Russia until 2022, when he joined Leverkusen before a loan spell at Roma. He now plays for Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE Pro League and is reportedly earning a yearly salary of £3million.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
29 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Transport Secretary to meet Nats head after air traffic control glitch
Heidi Alexander said that she will meet with Martin Rolfe to 'understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence' as more than 150 flights were cancelled on Wednesday. Airlines have demanded answers after thousands of passengers attempting to fly in and out of the country faced major disruption. Departures at all airports resumed yesterday and @NATS are working closely with airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely and look after passengers. I will be meeting the NATS Chief Executive today to understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence. — Heidi Alexander MP (@Heidi_Labour) July 31, 2025 Airports saw 84 departures and 71 arrivals cancelled as of 10pm on Wednesday – with the highest number of cancellations at London's Heathrow Airport – while a number of inbound flights were also diverted to European cities. In a post on X on Thursday morning, Ms Alexander said that 'Nats are working closely with airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely and look after passengers'. She added: 'I will be meeting the Nats chief executive today to understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence.' The 'technical issue' responsible for the disruption was at Nats's control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, according to the company. It first announced problems at around 4pm on Wednesday, and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. Ryanair called on Mr Rolfe to resign in the wake of the fault, claiming 'no lessons have been learnt' since the August 2023 system outage. The airline's chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of Nats.' Business minister Gareth Thomas was asked whether Mr Rolfe will be 'fired' over the incident. He told Times Radio: 'We are summoning – the Transport Secretary (Heidi Alexander) is summoning – in today the chief executive of of Nats to help us get to the bottom of what went wrong yesterday. 'Clearly, an incident happened two years ago and measures were taken then. 'It looks like those measures weren't enough but we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened, and conversations will take place today.' A former industry chief has said that it is 'unrealistic' to expect an air traffic management system where there is no technical failure. Graham Lake, former director-general of air traffic management industry association Canso, told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If you look at the minutes of outage over a period of years, your availability – system availability – is, frankly, very, very good. So, I think it's unrealistic to expect a system where you have no technical failure.' He added: 'The failure yesterday was short and sweet, if you like, the recovery was quick – aircraft were operating again very, very quickly.'
Western Telegraph
an hour ago
- Western Telegraph
Transport Secretary to meet Nats head after air traffic control glitch
Heidi Alexander said that she will meet with Martin Rolfe to 'understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence' as more than 150 flights were cancelled on Wednesday. Airlines have demanded answers after thousands of passengers attempting to fly in and out of the country faced major disruption. Departures at all airports resumed yesterday and @NATS are working closely with airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely and look after passengers. I will be meeting the NATS Chief Executive today to understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence. — Heidi Alexander MP (@Heidi_Labour) July 31, 2025 Airports saw 84 departures and 71 arrivals cancelled as of 10pm on Wednesday – with the highest number of cancellations at London's Heathrow Airport – while a number of inbound flights were also diverted to European cities. In a post on X on Thursday morning, Ms Alexander said that 'Nats are working closely with airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely and look after passengers'. She added: 'I will be meeting the Nats chief executive today to understand what happened and how we can prevent reoccurrence.' The 'technical issue' responsible for the disruption was at Nats's control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, according to the company. It first announced problems at around 4pm on Wednesday, and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. Ryanair called on Mr Rolfe to resign in the wake of the fault, claiming 'no lessons have been learnt' since the August 2023 system outage. The airline's chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of Nats.' Business minister Gareth Thomas was asked whether Mr Rolfe will be 'fired' over the incident. A view inside T5 at Heathrow airport at 18:15hrs following an after an air traffic control (ATC) fault caused major disruption on Wednesday afternoon (Jonathan Brady/PA) He told Times Radio: 'We are summoning – the Transport Secretary (Heidi Alexander) is summoning – in today the chief executive of of Nats to help us get to the bottom of what went wrong yesterday. 'Clearly, an incident happened two years ago and measures were taken then. 'It looks like those measures weren't enough but we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened, and conversations will take place today.' A former industry chief has said that it is 'unrealistic' to expect an air traffic management system where there is no technical failure. Graham Lake, former director-general of air traffic management industry association Canso, told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'If you look at the minutes of outage over a period of years, your availability – system availability – is, frankly, very, very good. So, I think it's unrealistic to expect a system where you have no technical failure.' He added: 'The failure yesterday was short and sweet, if you like, the recovery was quick – aircraft were operating again very, very quickly.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump escalates trade war with Canada following Palestine stance
July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his trade war with Canada a day ahead of his August 1 deadline for a tariff agreement, saying it would be "very hard" to make a deal with Canada after it gave its support to Palestinian statehood. Trump is set to impose a 35% tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement if the two countries do not reach an agreement by the deadline. "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them," Trump said on Truth Social. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously said tariff negotiations with Washington had been constructive, but the talks may not conclude by the deadline. Talks between the two countries were at an intense phase, he added, but a deal that would remove all U.S. tariffs was unlikely. Canada is the second-largest U.S. trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of U.S. exports. It bought $349.4 billion of U.S. goods last year and exported $412.7 billion to the U.S., according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Canada is also the top supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, and faces tariffs on both metals as well as on vehicle exports. Last month, Carney's government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting U.S. technology firms after Trump abruptly called off trade talks saying the tax was a "blatant attack." Carney followed France and Britain as he said on Wednesday that his country was planning to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September. In announcing the decision, Carney spoke of the reality on the ground, including starvation in Gaza. "Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza," he said. Israel and the United States, Israel's closest ally, both rejected Carney's comments. Carney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's post.
