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Despite simmering tensions with Iran, the U.S. will allow the Iranian national soccer team to enter the United States just before their upcoming World Cup matches, according to multiple sources.
A Department of Homeland Security Spokesperson told Reuters that the Iranian team – currently training in Mexico – would be allowed to enter the U.S. the day before their planned matches. However, the outlet reported that some Iranian team members – administrative members, not players – were allegedly not granted visas.
In response to reports that several Iranian team officials were denied entry into the U.S., the White House Rapid Response account on social media highlighted Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s explanation of the State Department’s stance on the situation.
“The Iranian team has chosen to stay in Mexico as opposed to the United States in the beginning,” Rubio told lawmakers last week, while testifying on Capitol Hill. “We have no problem with the athletes…but what we’re not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation, a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature.”
The United States allowing the Iranian soccer team to participate in the World Cup matches on its soil may be the first time that a participating nation in the World Cup games has hosted a country with which it is at war.
The FIFA World Cup, slated to begin on June 11 and run to July 19, will span three countries: Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Bringing FIFA to the United States for these World Cup matches has also been a highlight for the Trump administration.
Last year, the president signed an executive order establishing a White House task force aimed at organizing the FIFA World Cup games, which has broadly been expected to bring in billions of dollars in revenue across the three participating host countries, RSBN reported.
According to the official FIFA website, as of Tuesday, Iran is slated to play three games in the United States: Iran v. New Zealand (June 15 in Los Angeles), Iran v. Belgium (June 21 in Los Angeles), and Iran v. Egypt (June 26 in Seattle).
