Man With Ties to Iranian Military Tried to Enter US With Soccer Team

Mullin also said he has engaged in ’multiple conversations’ with FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the matter.

Iran's national football team's players in Antalya, southern Turkey, on March 31, 2026. Adem Altan / AFP via Getty Images

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Sunday that an individual with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted to enter the United States with the Iranian soccer team during the World Cup.

“When we started doing the research on him, he had only been put in place since 2022, and we didn’t allow him to board the plane,” Mullin told Fox News on Sunday, referring to the individual who had ties with the IRGC.