A prominent former soccer player in Iran who has expressed support for anti-government protests said his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving the country on Monday after their plane made an unexpected stop in the middle of the flight.
A man who had his own passport briefly taken earlier this year said his wife and daughter had left Tehran legally before the flight made an unexpected stop on a Persian Gulf island.
The doors to the flight were closed by his daughter's release. He said he and his family were going to go to the Middle East.
The flight was diverted to Iran's Kish Island, which is part of Iran, before it was able to reach its destination in the Persian Gulf.
There was no response from the airline.
Tasnim said that a travel ban had been imposed on Mr. Daei's wife because of her support for the protesters. She tried to circumvent the ban and ended up in the US.
A number of Iranian celebrities have come out in support of the protests after the death of a young woman. The Kurdish woman died after being arrested by Iran's morality police for violating the country's dress code for women.
One of the biggest challenges to clerical rule over the last four decades has been the calls for the overthrow of the theocracy.
More than 18,500 people have been arrested in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists in Iran. Figures for those killed or arrested in Iran have not been released.
A young man was publicly hanged in Iran earlier this month.
Mr. Daei, a top international goal scorer and former Iranian team captain, had urged the government on social media to "solve the problems of the Iranian people rather than using oppression, violence and arrests."
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