Houston (Texas) [US], June 21 (ANI): United States officials will continue to assess travel arrangements for Iran’s national football team during the FIFA World Cup 2026, though the current plan requiring the side to return to its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, after matches remains unchanged for now, White House Task Force Executive Director Andrew Giuliani has told Reuters.
Iran has expressed frustration over restrictions that allow the team to travel to match venues only within 24 hours of kick-off and require them to depart immediately after games. Because of such restrictions, Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoei recently described Iran as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup.”
Earlier on Friday, Iran’s football federation had also lodged a complaint with FIFA after the US authorities denied the national team’s request to travel to Los Angeles two days before their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match against Belgium.
According to Reuters, Giuliani said discussions regarding arrangements for Iran’s third Group G match against Egypt in Seattle would take place after Sunday’s clash against Belgium in Los Angeles.
“The situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said, as per Reuters. “We have a plan right now. Tomorrow afternoon (after the match against Belgium), they will take the 27-minute flight back to Tijuana.”
“We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle,” he said.
Iran shifted their World Cup base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, amid uncertainty over travel and entry arrangements into the United States. Giuliani defended the decision, saying it had reduced travel demands on the team.
“The shift from Tucson to Tijuana, I think, was good for everybody involved; certainly, it reduces their travel time to Los Angeles, too,” he said.
“Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re happy with the way that things went for match one in Los Angeles,” Giuliani added.
He also addressed concerns over visa approvals for members of the Iranian delegation, noting that while players and coaches had been cleared to enter the United States, some officials had not.
“I would just point to the fact that all players have received visas. All the coaches have received visas. There are some team officials that have not received visas, and that’s because we’ve seen some derogatory information on them, and this is the balance that we talk about,” he said.
The US official said tournament organisers were focused on ensuring security while hosting the global event.
“We want to make sure we have this incredible soccer tournament, where people are welcome and enjoy the World Cup, while also making sure that we are not just protecting American citizens, but we’re also protecting all those international visitors that are coming here,” Giuliani said.
He added that authorities had not identified any specific threats to the tournament.
“What I can tell you is our intelligence community has tripled down on this since the beginning of this year. We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment,” he said.
Iran opened their Group G campaign with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. They face Belgium on Sunday (Local Time) before taking on Egypt in Seattle in their final group-stage fixture.
All four teams in Group G — Iran, New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt — are level on one point after the opening round of matches, with New Zealand leading the standings on goal difference. (ANI)
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