According to The Guardian, on June 29 local time, US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said that he was "very happy" about the elimination of the Iranian national team. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi stated that the US is "not fit to host international events."
In Group G of the 2026 USA-Mexico-Canada World Cup, Iran ultimately ranked third and was eliminated. All three of their group matches were held in the United States.
At a World Cup security briefing, Mullin publicly stated: "I’m glad they (the Iranian team) are done playing and won’t be coming back. When we revoked their visas and informed them to leave US territory, I was absolutely delighted, might have even hummed a few tunes, maybe danced a little."
Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi reposted related US media reports on social media and addressed Mullin, saying his "mission accomplished."
Aragchi said, "You have proven to the world that you (the US) are not fit at all to host international events. What you have done serves as a vivid anti-example—a live demonstration of how to squander the dignity that a host nation is supposed to possess."