Iran's football team granted visas to enter US for World Cup, officials say

Iran's football team granted visas to enter US for World Cup, officials say

Iran's football team has been granted visas to enter the US ahead of the the World Cup next week, US officials have confirmed.

The approval comes just 10 days before the team's opening fixture against New Zealand, due to be held in Los Angeles on 15 June.

"The visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued," officials said.

They added that the US would not allow the Iranian team to "abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses".

The Iranian football federation is yet to publicly comment on the visa approvals.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to kick off on 11 June, and will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.

It will be the first iteration of the competition to see a host nation receive the team of a country it is at war with.

In late May, Iran moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, which Mehdi Taj, president of Iran's soccer federation, said was due to visa problems.

As recently as Friday, Fars news agency reported that some members of the Iran team's technical and administrative staff had not received a visa to enter the US.

Earlier this week, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, told lawmakers Iran's football delegation would not be allowed to include individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards - a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.

Several players in the Iranian squad have completed mandatory military service with the group.

Additional reporting from Bernd Debusmann Jr.