THE US head of homeland security has said he "danced a happy dance" when Iran were eliminated from the World Cup.
Iran fell agonisingly short of making it to the knockout stages after having a stoppage-time winner against Egypt disallowed in a game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
They could have made it through as a best third-placed team had Algeria or Austria beaten each other, but they played out a dramatic 3-3 draw which saw both sides progress.
Iran played all their games in the US but were not allowed to stay in the country. They had their training base moved from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico before the World Cup began.
They faced travel restrictions throughout the group stage amid the backdrop of the country's conflict with the US and Israel.
They were only permitted to enter the US the day before their first two matches and had to leave on the same day as the games. Restrictions were eased for their third game allowing them to arrive two days early, but they again had to return to Tijuana after Saturday's match.
Markwayne Mullin, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters following Iran's exit: "I'm just glad they're done, and they're not coming back.
"I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the US soil, and I might've sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance."
He added: "There wasn't a single team that we had to spend more time dealing with than Iran."
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said that the US had "treated us very unfairly" and that his squad had been given "less than half" the training window it needed to prepare.
He added his team were the "most oppressed" at the tournament.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said: "This kind of tension undermines the joy of the World Cup. I felt the tension from the first moment we arrived."
