The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, said he performed a “happy dance” when Iran was eliminated from the World Cup. Iran failed to advance from the group stage on goal difference after a stoppage-time winner was disallowed for a marginal offside in their match against Egypt.
Mullin, speaking to reporters on Monday, expressed his satisfaction with Iran's departure. "I'm just glad they're done, and they're not coming back," he stated. "I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the U.S. soil, and I might've sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance."
He added that Iran presented the most significant logistical challenges for the department during the tournament. "There wasn't a single team that we had to spend more time dealing with than Iran," Mullin said.
The Iranian team faced considerable travel restrictions throughout their participation. Their training base was moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, prior to the World Cup. Under the terms of their visas, Iran was only permitted to enter the U.S. the day before their first two matches and had to depart on the same day.
These restrictions were slightly eased for their final group game in Seattle, allowing them to arrive two days prior. However, they were required to return to Tijuana after the match.
Iran's coach, Amir Ghalenoei, described his team as the "most oppressed" at the tournament, citing the country's geopolitical tensions with the U.S. and Israel. He also asserted that the U.S., a co-host of the World Cup along with Canada and Mexico, had "treated us very unfairly" and that his squad received less than half the necessary preparation time. Iran captain Mehdi Taremi echoed these sentiments, noting that the tension from their arrival undermined the enjoyment of the World Cup.