US Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed Thursday that there would be no US restrictions on the participation of Iranian athletes in the upcoming World Cup championship to be co-organized by the US, Canada and Mexico this summer.
Speaking in remarks to reporters at the White House, Rubio stressed that the United States would not allow individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to enter as companions for the Iranian football team.
He noted that the “US has told them they can’t come. I mean, the problem with Iran, it would be not their athletes, it would be some of the other people that we want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC.
“We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves, but no one’s I don’t know where that’s coming from, other than speculation that Iran may decide not to come, and Italy would fill their spot, but that’s they decide not to come on their own because they decided not to come.
“What they can’t bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they’re, you know, journalists and athletic trainers,” he pointed out. – Kuna
