The US government has partially eased travel restrictions on Iran's national soccer team competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday (Korea time) that the US Department of Homeland Security has allowed Iran's team to enter the United States two days before its World Cup match.
As a result, Iran's team will be able to travel to Seattle on the 25th, two days ahead of its third group-stage match against Egypt scheduled for the 27th (Korea time). However, the existing condition requiring the team to leave the United States immediately after the match remains in place.
A White House FIFA task force official said in an interview with the AP that the measure had been planned from the start. "After watching how the first two trips went, if everything proceeded smoothly without problems, we intended to extend the stay by one more day, considering the long travel times," the official explained.
Previously, the US government had allowed Iran's team to enter the country only within 24 hours of a match. It had also applied travel restrictions requiring the team to return to its training base camp set up in Tijuana, Mexico, immediately after each match.
Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei expressed dissatisfaction with the schedule after a 0-0 draw with Belgium in the second group-stage match. "What we need most is recovery. The current travel conditions are too harsh," he said. In particular, Seattle, where the third group-stage match will be held, is located 1,200 miles (about 1,931 km) from the base camp, and Iran's team had been requesting a more relaxed travel schedule to secure time to adapt to the venue and for players to recover.
