The United States will continue to review travel arrangements for Iran’s national football team during the World Cup, though the current plan remains unchanged for now, according to Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament.
Speaking to Reuters on Saturday, June 20, Giuliani said the situation remains “dynamic” as discussions continue over logistics and security considerations surrounding the Iranian squad’s movements between matches.
Iran has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the current arrangements, which reportedly require the team to travel to venues within 24 hours of matches and return immediately afterward to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei has criticised the conditions, describing his team as “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup.”
The restrictions have drawn attention ahead of Iran’s upcoming fixtures, including matches against Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle.
Giuliani said the current schedule includes a 27-minute flight from match venues back to Tijuana following games, but noted that arrangements could still change depending on further discussions.
“The situation is dynamic. We have a plan right now,” he said. “We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle.”
He added that the adjustment of Iran’s training base from Tucson to Tijuana had already reduced travel time for the team.
Giuliani defended the broader organisational approach, stating that all players and coaches had been issued visas, while some team officials were denied clearance due to unspecified security concerns.
“There are some team officials that have not received visas, and that's because we've seen some derogatory information on them,” he said.
He also stressed that the U.S. aims to balance security with accessibility for international visitors attending the tournament.
“We want to make sure we have this incredible soccer tournament… while also making sure that we are not just protecting American citizens, but we're also protecting all those international visitors,” he said.
Giuliani confirmed that no credible threats have been detected so far, though security monitoring remains heightened.
“Our intelligence community has tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” he said. “We're in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”
Despite the tensions, he said the opening stages of the tournament have gone smoothly and praised the atmosphere surrounding the event, calling it a “fantastic” global celebration.
0 Comments
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed on this platform as comments were freely made by each person under his or her own volition or responsibility and were neither suggested nor dictated by the owners of News PLATFORM or any of their contracted staff. So we take no liability whatsoever for such comments.
Please take note!