US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told lawmakers that the US would not let Iranians with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) embed themselves in the country’s delegation to take part in the football World Cup that begins this month.
The Iranian team will play matches in the United States but will be based in Mexico for the tournament.
Despite the US-Israeli war with Iran, Rubio said Washington had “no problem” with the Iranian football team and its support staff entering the country.
“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, so we were going to watch that very closely,” Rubio said at a House of Representatives committee hearing.
Based in Mexico
Iran recently shifted its pre-World Cup training camp from the United States to Mexico, where the team is expected to stay before travelling to its tournament matches.
