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U.S. Allows Iran World Cup Team to Enter Two Days Early but Requires Departure After Seattle Match
The Department of Homeland Security will allow Iran's squad to enter the United States two days before its Friday match in Seattle. The team must depart immediately after the game and will travel from its base camp in Tijuana on Wednesday.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security eased travel restrictions on Iran’s World Cup team, allowing the squad to enter the United States two days before its next match. The team will still be required to leave after Friday’s match in Seattle, a department spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Iran Football Federation confirmed that the team will leave its base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday for Seattle. “This was planned on our end,” Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, told The Associated Press. ” The policy change was first reported by NBC News.
For the first two matches near Los Angeles, the Iran team was not permitted to travel until the day before each match. Iran played a 0-0 draw against Belgium on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei stated after the match that the team needed recovery more than anything and that conditions had been extremely hard.
FIFA regulations state each team shall travel from its base camp to the match venue one day before matchday and return after the match. Iran requested more time to acclimate and recover, especially for the 1,200-mile trip to Seattle. The team is scheduled to train on Thursday at the University of Washington.
“We don’t ask for much. We just ask for the same procedure as for all the other 47 teams,” Iran captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said Sunday. The Iran team experienced difficulties entering and exiting the U.S.
On the 127-mile flight between Tijuana and Los Angeles; one trip took five hours, team member Mehdi Taremi said. Hours before Sunday’s match against Belgium, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated on Fox News that Iranians had tried to get somebody in with direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
In a statement, the Iran Football Federation called the claim an outright and undeniable lie. Iran players wore gold-colored pins with the number 168 on their jackets when they disembarked in Mexico on June 7, referencing deaths in a missile strike on an elementary school.
