Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington will closely monitor Iran’s delegation attending the upcoming Soccer World Cup to ensure that individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) do not enter the country under the guise of participating in the tournament.
Speaking during a House of Representatives committee hearing, Rubio said the United States has no objection to the Iranian national team or its support staff travelling to the country for World Cup matches. However, he stressed that authorities would carefully vet members of the broader delegation for potential ties to the IRGC.
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“We’re not going to allow them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature, so we were going to watch that very closely,” Rubio said.
The Iranian team is scheduled to play matches in the United States during the tournament, although it will be based in Mexico throughout the competition.
Rubio’s comments come despite ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran following the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran earlier this year. He emphasised that the US has “no problem” with Iran’s football team and legitimate support personnel entering the country for the World Cup.
The remarks signal heightened scrutiny of Iranian officials and delegation members seeking entry to the United States for the tournament, particularly amid concerns that non-sporting personnel with links to Iran’s security apparatus could attempt to travel as part of the team’s entourage.
IRGC-LINKED FOOTBALL CHIEF SENT BACK FROM CANADA
Earlier in April this year, Mehdi Taj, the IRGC-linked president of Iran’s football federation, was turned back from Canada just hours after arriving for this week’s FIFA Congress, drawing renewed attention to Ottawa’s strict approach toward figures linked to the Iranian regime.
Taj, a former commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), left Canada along with two accompanying individuals after being questioned by authorities. The 66-year-old had been expected to attend the FIFA Congress at Vancouver Convention Centre ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The development came despite Iranian government sources claiming Taj had been granted a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), a special authorisation that can override inadmissibility under Canadian immigration law and would have allowed him to attend the FIFA gathering in Vancouver.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
