US Eases Restrictions on Iran’s World Cup Team, Allowing Travel 2 Days Before Next Match

The United States has eased restrictions on Iran’s World Cup team, allowing the team to travel to the country two days before its next match, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

The team will also have to leave after Friday’s game against Seattle, a department spokesman said. An Iranian Football Federation spokesman confirmed that the team will leave its base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday and head to Seattle.

“This was planned by us,” Andrew Giuliani, director general of the White House FIFA Task Force, told The Associated Press. “We would see how the first two movements went and if it went smoothly, we would extend the extra day due to the longer travel time.”

The Iranian team complained about the travel restrictions imposed on the team and the difficulties the team has faced since the beginning of the war. For the first two games in Los Angeles, the team was not allowed to travel until the day before. The team’s base camp was moved from Tucson, Arizona to Mexico. Some team officials and support staff were banned from traveling to the United States with the team.

It is not unusual for teams to travel the day before a match and this complies with FIFA regulations. However, Iran wanted more time to get used to the host cities and recover after the matches.

Following Sunday’s draw against Belgium, national team player Alireza Jahanbakhsh said he hoped the team could travel to Seattle as soon as possible to adjust for their game against Egypt.

“We are not asking for much. We just want the same procedure to be followed for the other 47 teams,” he said. “I hope we can bring with us everyone who participated and helped us.”