Reuters - Thousands celebrated the return of Iran’s national football team on Wednesday after they secured a place in next year’s World Cup finals, cheering wildly in the streets and making the most of new-found apparent freedoms since an election last week.

The celebration came just days after the relative moderate, Hassan Rohani, won the presidential vote and ended eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hardline presidency.

Excited by the twin victories, Iranians have enjoyed a rare few days of jubilation and have been allowed to express their happiness unfettered by Iran’s security forces, who have, unusually, done nothing to stop them.

But although there were many female fans outside Tehran’s Azadi stadium, guards did not allow them in for the official ceremony to welcome the team back from the win over South Korea that booked them a place in Brazil.

Iran does not allow women to attend football matches or mix freely with men.