A Florida lawmaker is pushing a new measure in Washington to ensure Iran’s military operatives don’t use the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup as a backdoor into the United States.
U.S. Representative Greg Steube, a Republican representing Florida, introduced a resolution aimed at backing the State Department’s current plans to vet the Iranian National Football Delegation. The goal is to stop the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—which the U.S. government classifies as a foreign terrorist organization—from embedding agents within the soccer team’s official travel group.
“The IRGC is a designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for supporting terrorism, targeting Americans, and destabilizing the Middle East,” Steube said in a statement. “As the United States prepares to host the World Cup, we cannot allow the Iranian regime to exploit this event as an opportunity to place operatives on American soil.”
The resolution has gained early traction, picking up co-sponsorships from Republican Representatives Mike Bost, Glenn Thompson, Sheri Biggs, Cory Mills, Pat Harrigan, Don Bacon, Randy Fine, Max Miller, and Eli Crane.
Beyond blocking IRGC affiliates from joining the team, the measure also advocates for a strict timeline on the Iranian delegation’s stay. It supports limiting their physical presence in the U.S. to the absolute shortest window required to play their scheduled matches.
The tournament will feature games across 11 American cities, including Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle. Iran is slated to kick off its U.S. matches on June 15 in Los Angeles.
The legislative push follows recent congressional testimony from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who assured lawmakers that the administration is already tracking the issue. Rubio testified last week that the State Department intends to heavily scrutinize every individual linked to the Iranian delegation to ensure non-athletic personnel and IRGC operatives cannot use the tournament as cover to enter the country.
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