Iran’s football team granted visas for World Cup 2026, US officials confirm

The United States officials have confirmed that Iran’s football team has been granted visas to enter the country for their World Cup 2026 matches, per BBC Sport.

However, several members of the team’s staff were denied visas. The Iranian embassy in Turkey slammed the co-hosts for the ‘discriminatory treatment’ in a social media post. 

According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, those who didn’t receive visas included the executive director Mehdi Kharati, the secretary general of the football federation, Hedayat Mombini, and media director Mohsen Motamedkia. 

These staff members will travel to Mexico while they continue efforts to obtain visas. 

Iran were originally set to be based in Arizona, with all three of their group games scheduled to be played in the US. 

However, their participation in the summer tournament was called into question by the ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns. 

US president Donald Trump said in March that Iran’s players should not come to the World Cup due to safety reasons. 

Team Melli asked FIFA to move their games to Mexico, but the global governing body’s president Gianni Infantino confirmed their matches would take place as scheduled in the US. 

Amir Ghalenoei’s team will set up camp in Tijuana, a border city in Baja California.

Iran will play their World Cup opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. 

Their next game against Belgium is also scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, while the third against Egypt will take place in Seattle.