Iranian football players have received visas to enter the United States, where they are scheduled to play in the upcoming World Cup, a White House official told Reuters on Friday, just 10 days before their first game in Los Angeles, due to conflict between the two countries.
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Passandideh, said late Thursday that the team had not yet received their U.S. visas, but that they had been granted overnight, a White House official said.
A spokesman for Iran’s World Cup federation was not immediately available for comment.
Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team’s base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico because of visa issues and a growing sense in Iran that the team’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early Sunday morning. Iran are scheduled to play their first Group G game on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium, before taking on Egypt in Seattle.
Complete schedule and times for all matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
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