World Cup 2026: United States does Iran a favor

After several days of tension and logistical restrictions, the Iranian national team has received a slight relaxation from the American authorities. This decision gives the players a bit more flexibility ahead of their next World Cup 2026 fixture.

The Iranian team has been granted a small easing of the travel restrictions imposed by the American authorities during the 2026 World Cup. From now on, Iran’s players will be allowed to arrive in Seattle two days before their next match, whereas previously they could only reach their host city on the eve of the game.

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This decision comes after the first two trips were deemed satisfactory by the American authorities.

“This was planned on our side. We wanted to first observe how the team’s initial two movements would go and, since they went off without incident, we decided to grant an extra day given the longer travel time to Seattle,” explained Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, to the Associated Press.

However, some measures remain in place. Iran, forced to move its base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, will still have to leave American soil immediately after their match on Friday.

Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

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