US Holds Firm on Iran World Cup Travel Curbs Ahead of Belgium Clash

Andrew Giuliani confirms Iran’s squad won’t get extra time in the US for their group-stage matches.

No Change in Plan, US Confirms

Washington will not loosen the travel rules imposed on Iran’s World Cup squad even though the team has threatened to file a formal complaint with FIFA. This applies to their matches in Los Angeles and Seattle. The confirmation came from Andrew Giuliani, the top tournament official representing the host nation.

The US will keep monitoring Iran’s travel setup, but right now, the original arrangement stays in place. Giuliani executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament shared this with Reuters on Saturday.

Iran’s camp is frustrated. Under current rules, players can only enter host cities within 24 hours of kickoff. They must fly straight back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, right after each game. Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t hold back, calling his squad “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup.”

A Rushed Exit After Match One

Iran’s players left American soil just hours after their opening match against New Zealand wrapped up last week. The Group G fixture finished around 8pm local time that’s 03:00 GMT. Within hours, the team was back at their Mexico base camp. This sparked criticism over how the US has handled the squad’s visa situation, since players got no overnight recovery time at their hotel.

Ghalenoei had expected his team to spend the night in California — standard practice for post-match recovery.

Things got messier when winger Mehdi Torabi’s entry visa expired right after that first game. By Tuesday afternoon, though, team officials confirmed a new multiple-entry visa had been arranged for him, covering future matches too.

“This issue has been resolved,” the US Department of State stated.

The same travel rules apply again for Sunday’s match against Belgium. Iran’s squad was scheduled to land in Los Angeles Saturday evening — roughly 24 hours before kickoff.

‘Situation Is Dynamic’

Giuliani admits things could shift. Discussions are already underway about what arrangements will apply for Iran’s third match, against Egypt in Seattle this Friday.

“The situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said, speaking 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.”

He defended the current setup, pointing out that switching Iran’s training base from Tucson to Tijuana before the tournament actually cut down their 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 said.

“Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re happy with the way that 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.”

Security Remains the Priority

Giuliani stressed that protecting both American citizens and visiting fans has always been the core goal.

“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 said.

He added that no specific threats to the tournament have surfaced so far, though officials aren’t letting their guard down.

“What I can tell you is our intelligence community has tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” he said. “We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”

Overall, Giuliani says he’s pleased with how the first ten days of the World Cup have gone.

“Things are going as planned” he said. “It’s been fantastic to see the great play on the pitch, that seems to be the majority of the conversation, which has been fantastic.”