The US is pushing back on complaints from the Iranian national team that it was forced to leave the country immediately after the first World Cup match rather than have a day to recover in a hotel, saying this was the plan for the team all along.
“We were clear that this was the process,” Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, told reporters. The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei said after Monday night’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand that the team had been ordered to leave the US and return to its training base in Mexico just a few hours later. Ghalenoei said the team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after the opening match.
Iranian winger Mehdi Torabi’s entry visa had also expired after the first match. Team officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they had issued Torabi a new multiple-entry visa after he visited the U.S. consulate in Tijuana.
“This issue has been resolved,” the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. “As soon as we became aware of the issue, we worked to ensure that the player can participate in every game.”
Giuliani said during an interview broadcast Monday night on CBS News that some of the Iranian team’s support staff and team officials were denied entry into the US. But he said all players and coaches had been granted visas. He also outlined the conditions under which the Iranian team could come to the US for their matches.
«The team will be allowed to come in, game day minus one, so the day before the game. They will be asked to leave on the day the game ends, so the night of the game. And they will be able to do that again in Los Angeles. They will be able to do that again in Seattle,» Giuliani said. The team’s next game is Sunday in LA.
When asked why some support staff and team officials were denied entry, Giuliani declined to go into details but referred to previous comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio about denying entry to people with direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
“Secretary Rubio said very clearly: anyone with direct ties to the IRGC is not coming to the United States of America, and they are not going to let the World Cup be the reason they can come in,” Giuliani said. “So I think it’s very clear why.”
The Iranian federation said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it had asked FIFA to follow up on the cases of those who had not received visas, noting that “the team’s media duties were handled by one of the analysts, which is neither professional nor an appropriate arrangement.”
“Like the other 47 participating teams, the Iranian delegation is expected to have its full operational staff, including a team manager, a media officer and an administrative manager,” the federation said. “Their absence poses significant challenges to the team’s daily operations and is inconsistent with standard tournament procedures.”
The Iranians’ World Cup cycle has been in turmoil since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. Iran ultimately decided to participate even after FIFA rejected its request to move the three group stage matches from the US.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said the team passed five hours of travel and security checks during what is normally a very short trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday.
“I think FIFA needs to help us more than this,” Taremi said.
Published on June 17, 2026
