Iran were hustled out of the United States so quickly that the team’s players had to be iced and bandaged on the plane back to their base in Mexico. [...]
The impact on players has been so disruptive that it is hard to fully estimate, Mr. Araujo said. Iran’s squad has had to make do without its media officers, analysts and other staff members required to carry out crucial tasks like managing mid-game substitutions. [...]
Boarding the plane presented its own challenges. A checkpoint was set up yards from their airplane, where two at a time, Iran’s players and delegation underwent a second screening after already having cleared security checks and passport control inside the airport. “It took more than three hours to get inside the plane,” Mr. Araujo said.
this is security theatre performed solely to humiliate the completely civilian representatives of another country and arguably, a bit of cheating to prevent even a minor bit of sporting success that could rally the iranian people and/or make the usmnt look bad.