US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.

President Donald Trump also said his administration “would not want to affect the athletes” in comments he made at the White House.

“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.

“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added. Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organization.”