Thomas Bamford
Iran's national football team have wasted absolutely no time getting their own back on the USA, with a cheeky post from their official Instagram account.
After the co-hosts crashed out of the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16, 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.
The image Iran shared also cleverly highlighted Belgium's 4-1 win 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.
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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 U.S. 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, a reference to the president's apparent involvement in getting USA striker Folarin Balogun's suspension overturned ahead of the tie.