President Trump’s administration is hosting the world for the World Cup, and apparently Iran’s regime saw that as an opening.
It did not work.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says a man with direct ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps tried to enter the United States with Iran’s soccer delegation. The man was posing as the federation president, and he was stopped before he could board.
That is the difference between treating a visa as a national-security decision and treating it as a rubber stamp.
Markwayne Mullin alleges that Iran tried to smuggle IRGC associates into the US with their World Cup team pic.twitter.com/QXMaxmrtLT
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 21, 2026
The Washington Examiner reported on June 21 that Mullin laid out the allegation directly during an appearance on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
According to Mullin, the man tried to come in under the guise of being the soccer federation president and was not allowed to board the plane on Saturday.
Mullin said the person had only been placed in that role since 2022 and had direct ties to the IRGC. He also said he had spoken with FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the restrictions around Iran’s World Cup travel.
The broader point is simple: DHS was looking past the sports credential and checking who was really trying to cross into the United States. A global tournament does not erase the threat profile of a regime-linked official trying to move with a protected delegation.
The New York Post reported on June 22 that the man was stopped in Tijuana as Iran’s team prepared to fly to Los Angeles for a World Cup match against Belgium.
The team was based in Mexico and permitted to travel to the United States around its match schedule, a setup already wrapped in diplomatic tension because of the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.
The Post also reported that Iran’s soccer federation wanted the team in Los Angeles two days before the Belgium match, but the request was turned down. Under the DHS version of events, the IRGC-linked figure tried to ride that delegation across the border and got cut off before takeoff.
Call it border screening doing exactly what it is supposed to do.
Iranian tied to paramilitary tried to enter US posing as World Cup soccer team president: DHS https://t.co/RvP0iWedkp pic.twitter.com/z1JOCxFDd9
— New York Post (@nypost) June 22, 2026
The IRGC is not a soccer club. It is the armed wing of a regime that backs terror proxies and chants death to America for sport.
Iran’s soccer federation denies all of it. As the AP reported on June 22, the federation called the DHS claim discriminatory and baseless.
Iran also complained about logistical problems, including training in Mexico and travel to its U.S. matches. Protests tied to Iran’s government showed up around the Belgium game, which ended in a scoreless draw.
Tehran can deny and complain all it wants. DHS says an IRGC-tied man was identified and turned away instead of waved through.
That is the whole point of having a homeland security operation that actually screens who comes in. A global event on American soil is exactly when adversaries probe for soft entry, and this time the door was locked.
