The Iranian team’s flight to Seattle was delayed by 25 minutes for Taremi and Alkhoei for undisclosed reasons.
Published June 24, 2026
Iran’s star forward Mehdi Taremi and assistant coach Saeed Alkhouei were detained by U.S. organizers as they departed Mexico for the final group stage match of the World Cup in Seattle, the Iranian Football Federation announced.
FFIRI said in a statement on Wednesday that authorities had “caused problems” for the pair and delayed the arrival of their delegation to the United States for the match against Egypt.
“During the national team’s third visit to the United States, organizers interfered with Saeed Alkhouei and Mehdi Taremi, delaying the convoy’s departure to Seattle for the match against Egypt,” the statement said.
The federation did not say why they were detained or whether Taremi and Alhoei were subject to questioning, but confirmed that they joined the delegation 25 minutes later and left for Seattle.
Iran’s national team and support staff are based in Tijuana, Mexico, having arrived for the World Cup in the midst of a war in their country between the United States and Israel.
Their delegation has traveled to the United States twice, arriving the day before the game and departing just after the final whistle. Both games will be held in Los Angeles, California, with the third game also being held in Seattle, Washington on the west coast of the United States.
The incident came a day after U.S. authorities eased travel restrictions on Iran’s World Cup delegation, allowing them to travel to Seattle two days before the match but then requiring them to leave immediately.
Iranian players and sports officials criticized the U.S. organizers’ treatment of Team Melli, who had to set up a base camp in Mexico while playing all three group stage matches on the U.S. West Coast.
U.S. officials suggested the restrictions on the Iranian team were related to national security, but gave no details on what threat the internationally known athlete’s stay in Iran might pose to anyone.
