White House in talks over Iran travel restrictions

by Regan Morris

The White House is considering changing the strict travel restrictions Iran are facing at the 2026 World Cup.

Iran are allowed to fly into the United States, who are co-hosts along with Canada and Mexico, a day before they have a game and have to leave the country on the same day as the match under the conditions of their visas.

This led to head coach Amir Ghalenoei saying they are the "most oppressed" team at the tournament following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Los Angeles in their opening game.

However, Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House's World Cup task force, says there are "discussions going on" about the timings for their travel to and from their third group match, which takes place in Seattle against Egypt on 27 June.

The Iran team is based in Mexico for the tournament and Giuliani said it was reasonable that the squad operated under the restricted travel for their first two matches in Los Angeles - a 30 minute flight away. However, since the Seattle flight would be up to three hours they are "in discussions" to make changes.

"I know that the president wants to be able to really balance the competitive balance on the field while making sure we're not compromising our national security," he told KOMO TV News, a local news station in Seattle.

"We want to make sure the Iranian team has the opportunity to come in and compete. What we have done for the Iranian team has been spectacular and credit to President Trump on this.

"He ended up signing an executive order to allow the team to come in and play the World Cup. They came in already to play in LA and they will again on the 21st."

Giuliani did not say if Iran was included in the discussions, and he did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Iran says its national team should be allowed to arrive in each host city two days before every match and return to its base camp the day after the game "in order to achieve optimal technical and physical preparation".

"The Football Federation of Iran believes that such restrictions are inconsistent with the principle of providing equal conditions for all participating teams and may negatively affect teams' preparation processes," the Iranian team told the BBC.

"Consequently, the federation will formally express its dissatisfaction and lodge an official complaint with Fifa through the appropriate channels."

Iran's next match is against Belgium in Inglewood, Los Angeles on Sunday at 20:00 BST.