Overview
- On Wednesday, White House Task Force official Andrew Giuliani publicly defended the U.S. handling of Iran’s travel restrictions and called the team’s choice to base in Tijuana “mutually beneficial.”
- Iran negotiated a last-minute move from Tucson to Tijuana because of uncertainty over U.S. visas, and U.S. authorities issued visas to all players roughly ten days before Iran’s opening match.
- Several key Iranian support staff were denied U.S. entry after security screening produced what officials described as derogatory information, and at least one person was blocked from boarding a team flight.
- The Department of Homeland Security required the team to leave the U.S. on match days but eased rules for Iran’s third game by allowing two days’ pre-match entry to better match other teams’ travel time.
- Reporters and officials say the case highlights how geopolitical security checks are reshaping how hosts plan big events and has prompted complaints to FIFA and broader calls for clearer, more transparent host-country protocols.