The United States pressured the Iraqi government to cancel at the last minute a permit previously issued to Tehran. A flight from Basra that led the Iranian football team, said the spokesman for the Iranian national team, Mohsen Moslemman.
"The USA, after failing in its expensive project to humiliate the Iranian national team in the 2026 World Cup, chose this time to pressure the Iraqi government to cancel the authorization previously given to the Tehran-Basra flight at the 90th minute," he stated. "It's all in vain because the deep connection between Iran and Iraq is above the global machinations of the world's thugs," Musselman added.
The Reuters news agency reported earlier that Iraq prohibited the plane carrying the Iranian national team from landing at Basra airport due to the American sanctions on Iranian airlines.