A letter from United Against Nuclear Iran to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges the US to deny or revoke visas for Iran's World Cup soccer team, citing evidence of deep integration with IRGC commanders and a plot to exploit the tournament for a 'soft war' against America, including a sanctioned commander's speech framing the event as a battlefield.
A prominent Iran ian-American watchdog group is urging the United States government to revoke the visas of Iran 's national soccer team ahead of the World Cup , alleging the team is deeply integrated with sanctioned terrorist leaders and is part of a planned ' soft war ' against America.
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) claims to possess a significant evidence base showing the team's coordination with senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian armed forces, individuals involved in attacks on U.S. forces, global terrorism, and severe human rights violations. The group points to a recent official send-off ceremony in Tehran as key evidence, where IRGC commanders addressed the athletes and framed the tournament as a military conflict.
UANI has sent an exclusive letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding action. The central piece of evidence is a ceremony held on May 13 for the departing World Cup squad. The event was led by Hossein Yekta, a senior IRGC commander under international sanctions for his role in violently suppressing unarmed protesters during the 2025-2026 demonstrations.
Yekta, also a member of the 'Habib Circle' intelligence network tied to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, explicitly told the players that the World Cup is a 'war battlefield.
' He urged them to play in memory of those who support Iran's missile defense systems and compared the soccer goal to the Strait of Hormuz, stating the players would 'guard the football goal' just as Iranian forces 'guard' the strategic waterway. During the rally, the crowd displayed images of IRGC commanders and flags of Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and chanted 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' in front of the team.
UANI's letter, penned by Chairman Ambassador Mark Wallace, argues this behavior is not isolated but part of a systematic regime effort to exploit the global tournament for propaganda and subversion. The group alleges the Iranian soccer team has co-hosted multiple events over the past month with senior IRGC figures.
Furthermore, UANI highlights the regime's long-standing infiltration of Iran's domestic soccer infrastructure, citing former IRGC commander Mohammad Rouyanian's management of the Persepolis club and the 2025 appointment of active Basij militia member Ali Inanloo to its board. While the players themselves have obtained visas to compete in California and Washington, the U.S. government recently denied visa applications for more than a dozen support staff.
UANI contends that given the new evidence of direct IRGC integration and the stated intent to conduct a 'soft war,' the entire team's entry should be denied or existing visas revoked to prevent the regime from using the event to menace the United States on its own soil
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