Iran's national football team has arrived at its training base in Mexico ahead of the 2026 World Cup, amid an escalating dispute over US visa access. Although Iran qualified in March 2025 by topping its Asian group, all three of its group-stage matches are scheduled in the United States, in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, and in Seattle against Egypt.
A US official confirmed that all of Iran's players were approved for visas. The conflict centers on staff. Iran's football federation says roughly 14 backroom members and officials, including its secretary-general and a vice president, were denied entry, and its embassy in Turkey called it "the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport." The team relocated its training base from the US to Mexico as a result.
US officials frame it differently. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the concern is not athletes or genuine support staff but individuals with alleged ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran was among 12 countries on a June 2026 US travel ban, which carved out an exemption for athletes and necessary team personnel. The tournament kicks off June 11.
Sources: ESPN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera.
Iran's national football team has arrived at its training base in Mexico ahead of the 2026 World Cup, amid an escalating dispute over US visa access. Although Iran qualified in March 2025 by topping its Asian group, all three of its group-stage matches are scheduled in the United States, in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, and in Seattle against Egypt.
A US official confirmed that all of Iran's players were approved for visas. The conflict centers on staff. Iran's football federation says roughly 14 backroom members and officials, including its secretary-general and a vice president, were denied entry, and its embassy in Turkey called it "the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport." The team relocated its training base from the US to Mexico as a result.
US officials frame it differently. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the concern is not athletes or genuine support staff but individuals with alleged ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran was among 12 countries on a June 2026 US travel ban, which carved out an exemption for athletes and necessary team personnel. The tournament kicks off June 11.
Sources: ESPN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera.
