The Iranian national football team is set to arrive in North America for the World Cup after finally securing travel documents, but a dispute over U.S. visa approvals continues to cast a shadow over the country's tournament preparations.
According to the Iran Football Federation (IFF), the national team received its visas only 10 days before its opening World Cup match.
While the players have been cleared to travel, Iranian officials say some of the IFF's leadership and support staff remain unable to enter the U.S.
Iran's semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that those who had not received visas included Executive Director Mehdi Kharati, Secretary General, Hedayat Mombini, and Media Director Mohsen Motamedkia.
Staff members without visas will travel to Mexico with the team while efforts to obtain visas continue, the agency said.
The IFF said the behaviour of co-hosts the U.S. "contradicts international sports laws" and it would take up the matter with soccer's world governing body FIFA.
"The U.S. government, continuing its hostile actions against the national team ... made a non-sporting and completely political decision to refuse visas for key managerial and administrative members of the Iranian national football team," it said in a statement reported by Iran's state media.
The timing of the visa approvals has added to the challenges facing the team. Iran has been holding its final preparations in Antalya, Türkiye, and confirmed that players and essential team personnel received their travel documents through the Mexican Embassy in Antalya ahead of a planned departure to Mexico.
The squad is expected to base itself in Tijuana, just across the U.S. border from San Diego, before traveling to its matches.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said American authorities would carefully examine members of Iran's traveling party to ensure that only individuals directly connected to the football team are granted access.
"We have no problem with the athletes or their support staff," Rubio said earlier this week. "But what we're not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature."
The visa controversy had already forced Iran to alter its World Cup plans. The team initially intended to establish a training camp in Tucson, Arizona, but relocated operations to Tijuana amid uncertainty over travel arrangements and entry permissions.
The Iranian team opens its World Cup campaign against New Zealand on 15 June in Inglewood, California, before facing Belgium on 21 June at the same venue. Iran's final group-stage match will be played in Seattle five days later.
A potential knockout-stage meeting between the U.S. and Iran could take place on 3 July in Arlington, Texas, should both nations finish second in their respective groups.
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