Iran's national football team has not received US visas and has relocated its World Cup training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, just across the US border from San Diego [1, 2, 3, 4]. The move aims to mitigate disruptions caused by visa delays as the Iranian squad prepares for group matches in US cities in June [3, 4].
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said on May 28 that "we don’t know whether or not they’re going to give the players their visas," adding that "we aren’t participating in the World Cup on equal terms" due to visa issues and limited training caused by the regional conflict that began February 28 [1, 2, 3]. He noted, "We haven’t been able to train our team like they should, because of the war in the Middle East that began on Feb 28" [1].
Iran will play three group-stage matches on US soil: June 15 and June 21 in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, respectively, and June 26 in Seattle versus Egypt [1, 2, 3, 4]. Iran’s Football Federation president Mehdi Taj called for multiple-entry US visas to cover the team’s need to enter and exit the country several times during the tournament. He stated, "The US should give all players multiple-entry visas as they would have to leave and re-enter the US many times" [4].
Last week, Iranian players and staff attended US visa interviews in Turkiye, but the issuance remains uncertain [4]. FIFA confirmed the training camp relocation to Tijuana on May 26 and 27 [3, 4], and Iranian diplomats visited the new base and met local security officials on May 27 [1, 2, 3].
Iran has also applied for Canadian visas as a precaution, in case the team reaches knockout rounds hosted in Canada [4].
The conflict that began on February 28 between the US, Israel, and Iran continues to affect logistics and preparations for Iran's World Cup participation [1, 2, 3, 4]. Iran's next group match is scheduled for June 15 in Los Angeles against New Zealand [1, 2, 3, 4].
