US homeland security chief cheers Iran’s World Cup elimination

Markwayne Mullin, the U.S. secretary of homeland security, said Monday he "danced a happy dance" when Iran was eliminated from the World Cup, turning the team’s exit into a fresh political signal as well as a sporting result. Iran missed the knockout rounds after finishing as the ninth-best third-place team, with only the top eight third-place teams advancing. Algeria and Austria drew 3-3, which left Iran on the outside.

Iran’s path through the group stage had already been shaped by pressure from Washington. The team had planned its base camp in Tucson, Arizona, but U.S. government restrictions forced a late move to Tijuana, Mexico. Several members of the Iranian delegation, including the president of the soccer federation, were denied visas, and family members and fans were also blocked from entering.

Iran said U.S. officials told it the team could arrive five days before the tournament began, on June 6, but the Iranians had asked to come two days before their matches. Instead, the team was allowed in only 24 hours before its first two games in the United States and was required to leave immediately afterward. Restrictions were eased before Iran’s third match in Seattle, Washington, and the team arrived two days before that game. Andrew Giuliani downplayed the complaint, saying the timing matched what many World Cup teams, including the United States men’s national team, were doing.

Amir Ghalenoei and his players repeatedly said the treatment was unfair. In response to Mullin’s remarks, an Iran Football Federation official said the comments said "far more about him than it does about our team." Iranian officials also accused FIFA and the United States of treating them unjustly, underscoring how the team’s three group-stage matches became a proxy fight over visas, security and diplomatic leverage.

The politics around Iran’s World Cup campaign echoed a pattern that has followed the country for years. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, many Iranians celebrated their team’s loss to the United States as a defeat for the Islamic Republic rather than for Iranian fans. Mullin’s reaction added a new American voice to that same rivalry, with sports once again serving as a stage for hostility between Washington and Tehran.