US eases restriction on Iran’s World Cup team, allowing travel 2 days before next match

The United States is easing its restrictions on Iran’s World Cup team, allowing the squad to travel into the country two days before its next match, the US Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

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. 

“We were going to look at how the first two movements went, and if they went smoothly, we would extend the extra day in light of the longer travel time.”

The policy change was first reported by NBC News and comes as officials from both countries negotiate over how to end the war in Iran.

Iran’s squad has complained about the travel restrictions levied on the team, and the challenges it has faced since the outbreak of war. 

Iran originally sought to move its group stage matches to Mexico, with whom it has diplomatic ties. 

The team’s base camp was relocated from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana. Several team officials and members of the support staff have been barred from travelling into the US with the team.

But Iran had asked for more time to acclimate to host cities and recover after matches, especially for the 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) trip to Seattle. The team has scheduled a Thursday training 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 national team player Alireza Jahanbakhsh said Sunday. 

“Hopefully we can bring everyone who is involved and help us with us.”

The Iran team has also said it experienced difficulties entering and exiting the US each time it made the 127-mile (204-kilometre) flight between Tijuana and Los Angeles. 

The typically short trip took five hours the day before its first match against New Zealand, team captain Mehdi Taremi said.

Hours before Sunday’s match against Belgium, US Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told Fox News the Iranians had “tried to get somebody in yesterday” who had direct ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. 

In a statement, the football federation vociferously pushed back, calling the claim “an outright and undeniable lie.”

It’s unclear whether Iran’s upcoming opponent, Egypt, will also be allowed to arrive in Seattle two days early. 

After its 3-1 victory against New Zealand in Vancouver on Sunday, Egypt asked to fly directly to Seattle. 

FIFA denied that request, citing a lack of security resources to accommodate the last-minute demand. 

Egypt returned to its base camp in Spokane, Washington, a 45-minute flight from Seattle.

Egypt’s national team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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