US keeps Iran World Cup travel curbs under review amid planned FIFA complaint
The US is keeping Iran’s World Cup travel arrangements under review while defending restrictions that require the squad to return to its Tijuana base after matches.
- The US is maintaining travel restrictions on Iran's World Cup team, requiring them to return to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, immediately after each match.
- Iran's team objects to the rules, which their coach called oppressive, and plans to file a formal complaint with FIFA.
- A White House official stated the situation is "dynamic" and the restrictions will be reviewed again after Iran's second match.
- The US justifies the measures as necessary to protect national interests, noting some Iranian team officials were denied visas due to "derogatory information."
The United States will continue reviewing Iran’s travel arrangements at the World Cup, but the current restrictions will remain in place for now, despite the team’s plan to file a complaint with FIFA, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told Reuters on Saturday.
Iran have objected to rules requiring the squad to travel to match venues only within 24 hours of fixtures and return directly to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, after each game. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei has described Iran as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup”.
Giuliani maintained that the situation remained flexible, with further discussions planned before Iran’s third group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle on Friday, following their fixture against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.
“The situation is dynamic,” Giuliani told Reuters in an exclusive interview in Houston. “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.”
Giuliani defended the measures and argued that Iran’s pre-tournament move from Tucson to Tijuana as a training base had reduced the team’s travel time.
“The shift from Tucson to Tijuana, I think, was good for everybody involved, certainly it reduces their travel time to Los Angeles too,” he explained. “Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re happy with the way things went for match one in Los Angeles.”
“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.”
Protecting US interests
Giuliani stressed that the priority was to protect both US interests and international visitors attending the World Cup.
“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,” he noted.
He confirmed that no threats to the tournament had been identified, while adding that officials remained alert.
“What I can tell you is our intelligence community has tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” Giuliani stated. “We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”
Giuliani also expressed satisfaction with the opening 10 days of the tournament.
“Things are going as planned,” he remarked. “It’s been fantastic to see the great play on the pitch, and that seems to be the majority of the conversation, which has been fantastic.”
“I think this is an amazing celebration of America over our 250th birthday, with the World Cup being the incredible highlight.”
