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Members of Iran’s national soccer team expressed frustration about their treatment after they were told the team needed to leave Los Angeles immediately after playing their opening World Cup game against New Zealand on Monday night.

After a 2-2 draw in their opening game with New Zealand Monday night, Iran’s team was forced to fly back to Mexico rather than remain in Los Angeles and do a recovery session Tuesday as they had hoped. Their late-night flight left the team traveling in the late hours of Monday into early Tuesday morning.

The game took place just a day after President Donald Trump claimed he had reached a deal with Iran’s government to end the unprovoked war he launched at the end of February – though skeptics warn it may only bring a short pause before more long-drawn-out war.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei expressed exasperation at having to fly back to Mexico, saying, “They have said we have to leave immediately. We are really troubled by that. We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest. It seems very strange. It seems others are doing the planning for us.”

The Iranian team has faced numerous obstacles due to U.S. restrictions, including having to relocate their team to stay in Mexico rather than stay in the U.S. during the World Cup. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the Iranian soccer team would be allowed to enter the U.S. the day before each of its three World Cup matches, which........

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