Thomas Bamford
Iran's national football team have wasted absolutely no time getting their own back on the USA, with a bold post from their official Instagram account.
The co-hosts crashed out of the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16, thanks to two goals from Charles De Ketelaere, another from Hans Vanaken while Romelu Lukaku sealed the deal with a fourth.
Not long after the game, Iran's official social media account posted an image reacting to the result with a caption reading simply: "Dance with me!"
It might seem like a strange thing to post at first glance, but there's a lot more context behind it than meets the eye, and it all leads back to some pretty controversial comments made by a senior US official just days earlier.
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The image Iran shared also cleverly highlighted Belgium's victory over the USA alongside their own 0-0 draw with Belgium back in the group stage, subtly pointing out that Belgium had been unable to beat Iran earlier in the tournament, despite putting four past the Americans.
The post was a direct nod to remarks made by US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin following Iran's own elimination from the tournament, comments the Iranian football federation had already branded 'hostile'.
Iran's place at the World Cup had been far from guaranteed in the build-up, with the tournament following airstrikes launched on the country by the US and Israel back in February.
Despite the uncertainty, Iran did compete, and came agonisingly close to reaching the last 32 after drawing all three of their group games, only to be denied victory over Egypt by a marginal offside call in their final match.
Throughout the tournament, Iran's federation made repeated complaints about how the team had been treated by US authorities, with head coach Amir Ghalenoei going as far as to say his side had been the 'most oppressed' team at the entire World Cup.
Mullin didn't do much to ease tensions either. Speaking during a World Cup security briefing, he said: "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."
Iran's federation didn't hold back in their response, releasing a statement saying they weren't remotely surprised by the comments.
"Iranians are used to the mistreatment and lies of U.S. officials, so no one in Iran is surprised by these hostile remarks," the statement read, going on to reference a missile strike in the country that remains under investigation by US authorities.
They continued: "These remarks once again demonstrate that U.S. officials have no commitment to international law or the principles expected of a host nation capable of organizing a global sporting event. The fact that he openly celebrates Iran's elimination says far more about him than it does about our team. It reflects a level of pettiness that cannot even tolerate the presence of a football team competing on the world's biggest stage."
The federation added that similar sentiments had already been expressed by their head coach after Iran's match against New Zealand, where he suggested the US didn't want Iran to progress in the tournament at all due to what the team had experienced.
"These latest comments only reinforce that belief," the statement concluded.
Iran's dig at the USA also came just after Belgium's own celebrations following their win, with several of their players seen mimicking Donald Trump's trademark dance after the final whistle, seemingly a reference to the president's apparent involvement in getting USA striker Folarin Balogun's suspension overturned ahead of the tie.
Round of 16 - Match 93: Portugal vs Spain, 0-1
Round of 16 - Match 94: USA vs Belgium, 1-4
Round of 16 - Match 91: Brazil vs Norway, 1-2
Round of 16 - Match 92: Mexico vs England, 2-3
Round of 16 - Match 90: Canada vs Morocco, 0-3
Round of 16 - Match 89: Paraguay vs France, 0-1
Round of 32 - Match 88: Australia vs Egypt, 1-1 (2-4 on penalties)
Round of 32 - Match 86: Argentina vs Cabo Verde, 3-2
Round of 32 - Match 87: Colombia vs Ghana, 1-0
Round of 32 - Match 84: Spain vs Austria, 3-0
Round of 32 - Match 83: Portugal vs Croatia, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 85: Switzerland vs Algeria, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 80: England vs DR Congo, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 82: Belgium vs Senegal, 3-2
Round of 32 - Match 81: USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 78: Mexico vs Ecuador, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 77: France vs Sweden, 3-0
Round of 32 - Match 79: Ivory Coast vs Norway, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 76: Brazil vs Japan, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 74: Germany vs Paraguay, 1-1 (4-3)
Round of 32 - Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco, 1-1 (3-2)
Round of 32 - Match 73: South Africa vs Canada, 1-0
Group L: Panama vs England, 2-0
Group L: Croatia vs Ghana, 2-1
Group K: Colombia vs Portugal, 0-0
Group K: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, 3-1
Group J: Algeria vs Austria, 3-3
Group J: Jordan vs Argentina, 3-1
Group I: Norway vs France, 4-1
Group I: Senegal vs Iraq, 5-0
Group H: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, 0-0
Group H: Uruguay vs Spain, 1-0
Group G: New Zealand vs Belgium, 5-1
Group G: Egypt vs Iran, 1-1
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Curacao, 2-0
Group E: Ecuador vs Germany, 2-1
Group F: Japan vs Sweden, 1-1
Group F: Tunisia vs Netherlands, 3-1
Group D: Turkey vs USA, 3-2
Group D: Paraguay vs Australia, 0-0
Group B: Switzerland vs Canada, 2-1
Group B: Qatar vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 3-1
Group C: Scotland vs Brazil, 3-0
Group C: Morocco vs Haiti, 4-2
Group A: Mexico vs Czech Republic,3-0
Group A: South Africa vs South Korea, 1-0
Group K: Portugal vs Uzbekistan, 5-0
Group L: England vs Ghana, 0-0
Group L: Panama vs Croatia, 1-0
Group K: Colombia vs DR Congo, 1,0
Group G: New Zealand vs Egypt, 1-3
Group I: France vs Iraq, 3-0
Group I: Norway vs Senegal, 3-2
Group J: Argentina vs Austria, 2-0
Group J: Algeria vs Jordan, 2-1
Group H: Uruguay vs Cape Verde, 2-2
Group H: Spain vs Saudi Arabia, 4-0
Group G: Belgium vs Iran, 0-0
Group G: New Zealand vs Egypt, 1-3
Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast, 2-1
Group E: Ecuador vs Curaçao, 0-0
Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden, 5-1
Group F: Tunisia vs Japan, 0-4
Group C: Brazil vs Haiti, 3-0
Group C: Scotland vs Morocco, 0-1
Group D: Turkey vs Paraguay, 0-1
Group D: USA vs Australia, 2-0
Group A: Czech Republic vs South Africa, 1-1
Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 4-1
Group B: Canada vs Qatar, 6-0
Group A: Mexico vs South Korea, 1-0
Group K: Portugal vs DR Congo, 1-1
Group L: England vs Croatia, 4-2
Group L: Ghana vs Panama, 1-0
Group K: Uzbekistan vs Colombia, 1-3
Group I: France vs Senegal, 3-1
Group I: Iraq vs Norway, 1-4
Group J: Argentina vs Algeria, 3-0
Group J: Austria vs Jordan, 3-1
Group H: Spain vs Cabo Verde, 0-0
Group G: Belgium vs Egypt, 1-1
Group H: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay, 1-1
Group G: Iran vs New Zealand, 2-2
Group E: Germany vs Curacao, 7-1
Group F: Netherlands vs Japan, 2-2
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador, 1-0
Group F: Sweden vs Tunisia, 5-1
Group B: Qatar vs Switzerland, 1-1
Group C: Brazil vs Morocco, 1-1
Group C: Haiti vs Scotland, 0-1
Group D: Australia vs Turkey, 2-0
Group B: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 1-1
Group D: USA vs Paraguay, 4-1
Group A: Mexico vs South Africa, 2-0
Group A: South Korea vs Czech Republic, 2-1