The White House defended its handling of Iran's visa restrictions during the World Cup on Wednesday, with senior official Andrew Giuliani saying the team's decision to base itself in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than Tucson, Arizona, ultimately benefited everyone involved.
Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, said the cross-border travel arrangements operated smoothly for all parties despite Iran raising concerns during the group stage and after its elimination from the tournament.
The Iranian Football Federation reached a last-minute agreement to relocate the team's base camp from Arizona to Mexico, citing uncertainty over whether players and staff would receive visas to enter the United States.
"It's important to point out that the Iranians chose to go to Tijuana. We were happy with that choice," Giuliani told reporters Wednesday.
"I think the Mexicans were very happy with that choice. I think the Iranians, as they said, were very happy with that choice as well.
"I think what we tried to do here on the White House Task Force was apply common sense to making sure the athletes could have fair play on the pitch."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government agreed to allow the Iranian squad to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the U.S. did not want to host the team.
Giuliani added that the decision also ensured no one with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) entered the country under the guise of participating in the World Cup.
The U.S. awarded visas to all of Iran's players just 10 days before their first match, but several support staff members were denied entry, including "key managerial and administrative members," according to Iran's football federation.
Initially, Iran's squad was only allowed to enter the U.S. a day before matches, prompting coach Amir Ghalenoei to say it was the "most oppressed team" at the World Cup.
But Giuliani defended the travel arrangements, noting what he described as logistical parity.
"In Los Angeles, they were able to come a day early for the match. For comparison's sake, the U.S., they were in Orange County. They took a bus ride, a longer bus ride than the flight was for the Iranians," he said.
The restrictions were later eased for Iran's third match in Seattle, when the team was permitted to enter the country two days before the game.
"For Seattle, it was two days because we knew that flight was a little over three hours. So we wanted to make sure they had that extra day so we could achieve the parity," Giuliani said.
However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the team would still be required to leave after the match.
Iran later thanked the people of Tijuana for their hospitality during the World Cup following the team's group-stage elimination, saying Mexico had become "our second home and our second team."
