US to screen Iran World Cup delegation for suspected IRGC-linked infiltrators

US officials say Iran's delegation for the 2026 World Cup will be allowed to enter the country, but will be screened for any suspected infiltrators linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The comments were made as the Iranian team prepares for a tournament in which it is due to play matches in the United States while remaining based in Mexico. The issue has emerged during a period of heightened tension between Washington and Tehran.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told legislators on Tuesday that the United States would not allow people with links to the IRGC to enter as part of Iran's World Cup delegation. He also said Washington had "no problem" with the entry of Iran's national team and coaching staff. The remarks came during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department's budget proposal for fiscal year 2027.

The row has also drawn attention to visa questions involving former IRGC-linked players. Iran reportedly made a series of requests for the tournament, including US visas for two former members of the IRGC. The players named in the reporting are Mehdi Taremi and Ehsan Hajsafi, both of whom completed military service in the IRGC.

The reporting says Taremi served in the IRGC Navy in Bushehr between 2010 and 2012, while Hajsafi also completed service that could complicate his entry under US rules. The issue matters because the World Cup is a major international event that will bring Iran's team into a country that treats the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organisation. That designation gives US authorities a legal basis to restrict entry for people they believe have organisational links to the force.

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It also places the tournament at the intersection of sport, border control and wider US-Iran tensions. Iran's military service system is part of the background to the dispute. The reporting says military service is compulsory in Iran, and that some footballers can serve through clubs affiliated with the armed forces.

Taremi and Hajsafi are described as having taken a different path, which is now being scrutinised because of the US approach to IRGC-linked individuals. The team's planned base in Mexico adds another layer to the logistics, since only its matches will be played on US soil. What remains unclear is how US screening will be applied in practice and whether any individual players or staff members will face delays or refusals.

It is also not clear whether the visa requests for the former IRGC-linked players will be approved. The next point to watch is whether the US issues further guidance before the tournament begins and whether Iran's delegation can travel without disruption.

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