US official's comments on Iran's World Cup exit spark fresh controversy

A new controversy has arisen over the comments of a top US official after Iran's exit from the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. US Homeland Security chief Mark Wayne Mullen has publicly said that he is happy that Iran has exited the World Cup. The Iranian Football Federation has strongly reacted to his comments.

Iran failed to qualify for the knockout stage by drawing all three of its group matches. Their World Cup campaign ended after being denied a win against Egypt in the final match. During the tournament, Iran's coach and players raised several complaints about limited preparation opportunities, travel complications and the behavior of the organizers. Captain Mehdi Taremi also expressed dissatisfaction with the organization of the tournament.

In a security briefing, Mark Wayne Mullen said that the Iranian delegation was asked to leave the United States and that he was happy about it. He also claimed that part of the Iranian delegation had ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, he did not provide any evidence to support these allegations.

In response, the Iran Football Federation said in a statement that it was not surprised by the US official's statement. They claimed that the Iranian team was not given the opportunity to participate in a normal environment from the beginning. According to the federation, this comment proves that the allegations of discriminatory treatment against Iran during the World Cup were not completely unfounded.