All of Iran's group games are in the US, but players and support staff will have to fly in and out of the country on match day.
19 hours ago
Tom McArthur
Reuters
Iran's Fifa World Cup 2026 football team have landed in Mexico amid an ongoing row over visas and access to the stadiums in the US where they are to play.
All three of Iran's group games are in the US, but the players and support staff have been told they have to fly in and out of the country on match day.
The World Cup, jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, begins on 11 June, with Iran securing their place by finishing top of their qualification group in March 2025, almost a year before the US and Israel began attacks on the country.
This will be the first iteration of the World Cup to see a host nation receive the team of a country it is at war with.
US officials said visas had been issued to all players and "necessary support staff" on Friday, 10 days before Iran's opening fixture against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June.
According to Iranian state-linked media, 15 officials including the football federation chief, his deputy, and a media director are among those denied entry to the US.
US officials said that Iran would not be allowed to "abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences", echoing comments US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made earlier in the week in which he said the Iranian delegation would not be allowed to include people with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.
Several players in the Iranian squad have completed mandatory military service with the group.
Iran's embassy in Turkey accused the US of "politically biased interference in sport" by denying visas to a "large portion of the managerial and executive staff" and "technical advisers".
Embassy officials also called on Fifa, football's world governing body, to intervene on the visa row.
Iran are also due to play Belgium in California and Egypt in Seattle in their other two group games.
When Washington says "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," it means something far broader than enrichment percentages
Authorities are considering limiting passenger numbers at Ben-Gurion Airport while emergency preparations expand across the country.
The current conflict — the first war of the post-Khamenei era — is more than another confrontation with Tehran. It is a sign that the regional order born in 1979 is beginning to unravel.
According to Gallant, such an operation would be dangerous, but "worth paying the price to avoid an existential risk."