With World Cup Opening Imminent... Iran Team Still Has Not Received U.S. Entry Visas

Mexico Base Camp Visas Issued Within 48 Hours

The Iran national football team, which is currently in a ceasefire with the United States, has obtained entry visas for Mexico to set up their base camp ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. However, it has been reported that the team has still not resolved the issue of obtaining entry visas for the United States, where the group stage matches will be held.

Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh, the Iranian Ambassador to Türkiye, announced on June 4 (local time) that “entry visas for Mexico for all members of the Iran national football team were issued by the Mexican embassy within 48 hours.”

Iran is in Group G of the North and Central America World Cup, competing against Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand. All three group stage matches are scheduled to be played in Inglewood, near Los Angeles (LA), and Seattle in the United States.

Iran National Football Team. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

At the end of February, instability in the Middle East following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran cast doubt on Iran’s participation in the World Cup. While the team ultimately did not withdraw, ongoing diplomatic tensions and visa issues forced the Iranian squad to abandon its original plan to set up a base camp in Tucson, Arizona, and relocate to Mexico instead.

With the recent visa approvals, the Iran team will now be able to train in Mexican border cities such as Tijuana. However, as of less than two weeks before the World Cup kicks off, the team still has not received U.S. entry visas required to play their matches.

The U.S. government is taking a cautious approach regarding the Iranian team’s visa issues.

On June 3, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The United States will never allow individuals affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who are unrelated to sports to join the Iranian team,” adding, “We will monitor this very closely.” It has been reported that Iran captain Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos) and defender Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan) previously completed mandatory military service in the IRGC.

In Iran, all men over the age of 18 are subject to compulsory military service, and upon enlistment, they are assigned by random lottery to either the regular army or the IRGC.

Previously, Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, was denied entry to Toronto, Canada, on May 30 while attempting to attend the FIFA Congress, reportedly due to his IRGC service record, and was unable to participate in the congress.

The Iran team is scheduled to play its final warm-up match against Mali in Antalya, Türkiye, on June 5, before moving to Mexico to prepare for the World Cup.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.