FIFA World Cup 2026 – Iran slams ‘discriminatory treatment’ by US over World Cup visa denials

Iran on Saturday criticized World Cup host nation the United States for what it called «discriminatory treatment» in not granting visas to some members of the Iranian delegation to the tournament.

“Why don’t you say that visas have been denied to a large portion of the management and executive staff, technical advisors and others who form an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian embassy in Turkey said in a message on X, referring to an earlier announcement by US envoy Tom Barrack that visas had been granted to players.

“You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment of the Iranian national football team to the highest level,” the embassy added.

On Friday, Barrack praised the US Embassy in Ankara for its “work processing of visas for the Iranian national football team”, after the head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, said on the same day that the Iranian delegation has submitted passports for visas.

But on Saturday reports from the Iranian media, including sports media Varzesh3members of the delegation, including Taj, along with executive members and analysts, have been denied visas.

On Friday, Taj told state television that his “assessment is that all visas will be issued in full, and there will most likely not be any problem in this regard.”

The Iranians moved their World Cup base, initially planned in Tucson, Arizona, to the northwestern Mexican border city of Tijuana.

All three of the team’s group matches will take place in the United States.

Team Melli begins their tournament with two matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before playing Egypt on June 27 in Seattle.

Published on June 6, 2026