Zerohedge: Iran's Alleged IRGC Ties to US Soccer Delegation

Summary

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin revealed that Iranian officials tried to send individuals with alleged ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps into the U.S. as part of their World Cup soccer delegation. President Trump had directed Homeland Security to conduct heightened vetting of Iran's traveling group. Mullin stated that over half of the additional representatives Iran sought to bring had connections to the IRGC, which the U.S. considers a hostile military organization. He cited an instance where an individual with IRGC ties was prevented from boarding a flight. While 53 individuals were accepted, Mullin claimed the rest of Iran's attempted delegation also had direct IRGC ties and were not part of their usual traveling group. The Iranian team plays World Cup games by flying from Tijuana, Mexico. The administration anticipated potential access attempts and implemented extreme vetting. However, the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran called these allegations "an outright lie," stating no such incident occurred.