President Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Sunday told Fox News that a person with “direct ties” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tried to board the Iranian national soccer team’s flight to Los Angeles from Mexico for Sunday’s World Cup match vs. Belgium.
[NOTE: Due to the U.S.-Iran war, the Iranian soccer team has been required to train and stay in Tijuana, Mexico during the World Cup, and commute across the border for their matches in the U.S.]
Mullin didn’t name the alleged individual but according to sources, including ESPN, “The Iran federation president is Mehdi Taj. Taj previously was a high-ranking intelligence officer with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.”
The Iran football federation denied Mullin’s claim, calling it an “outright lie” and calling the allegations “fabricated and entirely baseless.”
Mullin owes us proof. This is totally pathetic way to get attention. It is very unlikely the head of the Iranian soccer federation would try to “sneak” into the US. Mullin? @DHSgov? Can you give us more details? https://t.co/s0bN7YMgFk
— Juliette Kayyem (@juliettekayyem) June 21, 2026
Former Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem, now a lecturer at Harvard and a CNN senior national security analyst, responded to the accusation, writing: “Mullin owes us proof. This is a totally pathetic way to get attention. It is very unlikely the head of the Iranian soccer federation would try to ‘sneak’ into the US. Mullin? @DHSgov? Can you give us more details?”