Iran's federation fires back at US official

The comment that started it

Markwayne Mullin, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, didn't just note Iran's exit from the 2026 World Cup — he performed what he described as a 'happy dance' and expressed relief that Iran could 'leave US soil'. For a senior government official of a co-host nation, it was a striking way to treat a tournament guest. The kind of comment that, in a different context, might get a club official fined.

Iran's federation responds

Iran's football federation didn't let it pass. In a public statement, the federation accused the co-hosts of spreading 'lies' and said they are 'used to mistreatment' — a phrase that carries weight far beyond the football pitch. The full scope of their statement, beyond those core accusations, has not been independently confirmed from a single source, but the direction of travel is clear enough: this is a formal, on-record response from a national federation to a sitting government minister.

What it means for the tournament

The 2026 World Cup was always going to carry political freight — co-hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with a field of 48 nations that includes some of the world's most complicated bilateral relationships. But a cabinet secretary publicly celebrating a specific nation's departure crosses a line that most host governments have historically been careful to avoid. FIFA's own framework asks host nations to guarantee a welcoming environment for all participating teams. Whether Mullin's comments sit comfortably inside that framework is a question the tournament organisers have been conspicuously quiet about.

The bigger picture

Iran and the United States have form here — their 1998 World Cup group-stage meeting in France remains one of the most politically loaded matches in the tournament's history, played out against a backdrop of two decades of severed diplomatic relations. The 2026 edition has now generated its own flashpoint, not on the pitch but in the press briefing rooms. Iran's federation invoking the language of mistreatment suggests this won't be quietly filed away.

Markwayne Mullin did a happy dance. Iran's federation wrote a statement. Neither of those things is how a host nation usually says goodbye to a departing team.