US Homeland Security Secretary Mullin Celebrates Iran's World Cup Exit
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin openly celebrated Iran's elimination from the World Cup, saying he did a "happy dance," as reported by Sports Business Journal on Monday. The Iranian team narrowly missed advancing to the knockout rounds, drawing all three of their Group G matches and finishing as the ninth-best third-place team after Austria scored a last-minute goal against Algeria in the final group-stage match, with only the top eight third-place teams advancing to the round of 32.
Speaking at a World Cup security briefing in Washington, Mullin did not hide his reaction, stating he was "so glad they're gone" and "very happy they're going back because there wasn't a single team that we dealt with more than them." He later told reporters, "I'm just glad they're done, and they're not coming back. I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the US soil, and I might've sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance."
The celebration comes amid ongoing military and political conflict between the United States and Iran. The U.S. government restricted the Iranian soccer team's movements during the World Cup, according to the same report. Iran had moved its planned training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana prior to the event. The U.S. limited the amount of time the Iranian team could spend in the country before each match and required the squad to exit the nation immediately after each contest.
Mullin also maintained that "almost half" of the people Iran wanted to bring to the U.S. for the World Cup were directly tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — an assertion the Iranian federation stated was "completely unsupported by any evidence."
Iran's coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said his team was treated "very unfairly" during the tournament. The Iranian team left notes in the locker room for the hosts after their final two matches, according to the reports.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is described as famously close to U.S. President Donald Trump, had awarded Trump the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize" in December, a fact noted in the context of U.S.-Iran tensions during the tournament.