Iranian staff’s journey to Seattle was delayed by 25 minutes as Taremi and Alhoei had been held up for an undisclosed purpose.
Printed On 24 Jun 2026
Iran’s soccer federation says its star ahead Mehdi Taremi and assistant coach Saeed Alhoei had been held up by United States host officers because the staff departed Mexico for his or her final group-stage World Cup match in Seattle.
Officers “brought on issues” for the duo, delaying their delegation as they travelled to the US for his or her match in opposition to Egypt, FFIRI introduced in a press release on Wednesday.
“Throughout the nationwide staff’s third journey to america, host officers disturbed Saeed Alhoei and Mehdi Taremi, delaying the convoy’s departure to Seattle for the match in opposition to Egypt,” the assertion mentioned.
Whereas the federation didn’t specify the explanations for the hold-up and whether or not Taremi and Alhoei had been topic to questioning, it confirmed that each joined the delegation after 25 minutes and so they departed with them for Seattle.
Iran’s squad and assist employees have been primarily based in Tijuana, Mexico, as they arrived for the World Cup amid the US-Israeli conflict on their nation.
Their delegations have travelled to the US twice, arriving a day earlier than their fixtures and departing quickly after the full-time whistle. Each matches had been hosted in Los Angeles, California, and the third one may also be performed on the US West Coast, in Seattle, Washington.
The incident comes a day after US authorities claimed to have eased journey restrictions on Iran’s World Cup delegation, permitting them to journey to Seattle two days previous to their recreation however nonetheless requiring them to depart instantly afterwards.
Iranian gamers and sports activities officers have decried the American hosts’ remedy of Crew Melli, which needed to arrange its base camp in Mexico whereas taking part in all three of its group-stage matches on the US West Coast.
US officers have urged that their restrictions on the Iranian staff should do with safety, with out offering particulars of how the keep of internationally famend athletes within the nation may pose a risk to anybody.
