As the 2026 World Cup approaches, several members of Iran’s backroom staff are set to be barred from entering the United States after their visas were not approved.
The tournament begins on Thursday (June 11) with Mexico facing South Africa, while Iran’s campaign is scheduled to start against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
With the US serving as one of the co-hosts, questions have circulated for months about whether Iran would be able to travel to and operate in the country amid ongoing international tensions.
Donald Trump launched a joint attack with Israel on the country on February 28, which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s squad has been preparing in Turkey in the build-up to the competition and arrived in Mexico on Sunday (June 7). The team is expected to remain based there and use it as their primary training location during the World Cup.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino previously confirmed in March that Iran would participate in the competition, although US authorities have not allowed the team to hold training sessions on American soil.
While Iran’s players and some staff members were granted visas on Friday (June 5), Iranian state media said that other members of the delegation — including Iranian football federation chief Mehdi Taj — were still waiting for their applications to be approved.
A US State Department official told multiple outlets that ‘the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued’.
“We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses,” the official added.
Iran’s embassy in Turkey has condemned the decision, alleging the US is engaging in ‘politically biased interference in sport’ by refusing visas for what it described as a ‘large portion of the managerial and executive staff’.
Separately, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, spoke to reporters on Sunday and indicated that the team’s entry into the US would be tightly restricted under the current visa conditions, requiring same-day travel for matches.
“We can enter in the morning and we must leave the same day,” the official told reporters.
A statement from the Iranians added: “You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level.”
Iran are scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, before finishing their group stage against Egypt in Seattle.