During the recent anti-government rallies, Iran slapped a travel ban on football player Ali Karimi, his wife, and her family, according to leaked documents obtained by the BBC.

Mr Karimi was among the first celebrities to publicly condemn the violent crackdown on the September protesters.

The footballer, renowned as Asia’s Maradona, was living in the UAE at the time.

The death in prison of a Kurdish Iranian woman ignited the protests.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died after allegedly being attacked by morality officers who arrested her for failing to properly wear her hijab.

Protests spread across the country but were severely suppressed. According to human rights organizations, security forces have murdered at least 530 protestors, including approximately 70 minors, since the protests began.

According to one of the documents obtained by BBC Persian, Mr Karimi “was invited [to Iran] nine times by our agent and has received serious warnings.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence unit informed Tehran’s prosecutor in a document marked “top secret” and dated 24 October 2022 that “Karimi’s recent activities were instigated by his wife Sahar Davari and her family.”