US won’t let Iranians with IRGC ties enter as part of World Cup delegation, Rubio says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells lawmakers that the US will not let Iranians with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) embed themselves in the country’s delegation to take part in the soccer World Cup that begins this month.

The Iranian team will play matches in the United States but will be based in Mexico for the tournament.

Despite the war the US and Israel launched against Iran in late February, Rubio says Washington has “no problem” with the Iranian soccer team and its support staff entering the country.

“What we’re not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature, so we were going to watch that very closely,” Rubio says at a House of Representatives committee hearing.