Iran’s national football team arrived in Mexico on Sunday ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, amid growing diplomatic tensions with the United States over visa restrictions affecting some members of its delegation.
The controversy emerged just days before the tournament begins on Thursday. The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The Iranian squad arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana after completing a training camp in Turkey, where they spent nearly three weeks preparing for the competition and processing travel documents for the three host nations.
Although Iran will play all its Group G matches in the United States, the team will remain based in Tijuana throughout the tournament.
The situation is particularly significant as it marks the first time a World Cup host nation will welcome the national team of a country with which it is engaged in an active military conflict.
According to US Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, Iranian players received their US visas before departing Turkey. However, Iran’s embassy in Turkey said visas were denied to 15 members of the team’s administrative and management staff.
The embassy accused Washington of discriminatory treatment and called on FIFA to investigate the matter and hold the United States accountable for any breach of football regulations.
Adding to the uncertainty, Iran’s Ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, claimed the team had been informed that it must enter and leave the United States on the same day as its matches.
However, team spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi offered a different account, stating that the squad had been issued multiple-entry visas that would allow players and officials to arrive at match venues one or two days before games.
The visa dispute has drawn criticism from the Iran Football Federation, which described the development as political interference in sports.
Responding to the allegations, US officials insisted that all visas required for Iranian players and essential team personnel had been issued. However, American authorities maintained that they would not allow individuals deemed security risks to enter the country under the guise of participating in the tournament.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested concerns centred on certain members of the Iranian delegation rather than the players themselves, citing possible links to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organisation.
The dispute has also affected Iraq’s delegation. US border authorities confirmed that while Iraq’s national team entered the country, one non-playing member of its delegation was denied entry after additional screening.
The latest controversy comes against the backdrop of continuing tensions between the United States and Iran following months of military hostilities in the Middle East.
Iran will begin its World Cup campaign in Group G against New Zealand on June 15 in Los Angeles, before facing Belgium on June 21 and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.