July 8 - The White House has defended its handling of Iran's visa restrictions during the World Cup, with top official Andrew Giuliani saying the team's decision to base themselves in Tijuana, Mexico, instead of Tucson was mutually beneficial.

Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, said the cross-border logistics worked smoothly for all parties despite Iran's complaints during the group stage and after they were knocked out of the tournament.

The Iranian Football Federation had negotiated at the last minute to move the team's base camp from Arizona to Mexico, due in part to uncertainty over whether they would be granted visas to enter the U.S.

"It's important to point out that the Iranians chose to go to Tijuana. We were happy with that choice," Giuliani told reporters on Wednesday.

"I think the Mexicans were very happy with that choice. I think the Iranians, as they said, were very happy with that choice as well.

"I think what we tried to do here on the White House Task Force was apply common sense to making sure the athletes could have fair play on the pitch."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had said her government agreed to allow the Iranian squad to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the U.S. did not want to host the team.

Giuliani added that the decision also made sure nobody with connections to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) entered the country using the World Cup as an excuse.

STAFF MEMBERS DENIED ENTRY

The U.S. awarded visas to all of Iran's players just 10 days before their first match, but several support staff members were denied entry, including "key managerial and administrative members," according to Iran's football federation.

Initially, Iran's squad were only allowed to enter the U.S. a day before matches, prompting coach Amir Ghalenoei to say they were the "most oppressed team" at the World Cup.