FIFA World Cup 2026: Iran still in visa limbo 10 days before first match, says ambassador

Iranian World Cup players have been granted visas to enter the United States, a White House official said ⁠Reuters on Friday.

The country’s team will play its first match in Group G on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where it will also play Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.

Iran’s ambassador to Mexico said his country’s squad had still not received US visas just 10 days before their first World Cup match in Los Angeles, raising the possibility that the team could not participate in the tournament amid an ongoing conflict between the two countries.

“We will keep trying until the last moment to enter (the US) and play,” Abolfazl Pasandideh said through a Spanish interpreter at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City.

Pasandideh described a hectic few weeks navigating a nine-hour time difference with Tehran while negotiating a last-minute move from the team’s base from Arizona to Tijuana because of visa issues and a growing sentiment in Iran that the team’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.

They will land in Tijuana early Sunday morning.

«Sports and the World Cup were created to bring countries closer together. But we are not witnessing that at the moment,» Pasandideh said.

The US has never formally said it does not want the Iranian team to remain on its soil, the ambassador said.

“But by its actions it has shown that Iranians have no place there,” he added, praising Mexican officials for welcoming the team and accelerating their visas.

The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The war in Iran has turned the World Cup – the world’s biggest sporting event – ​​into a geopolitical battle, with both sides appearing to use the tournament for political purposes.

It is the first World Cup since its inception in 1930 where a host country will host a country with which it is at war.

Iran’s desire to participate in the tournament underlines its efforts to find a solution in the war with Washington, Pasandideh said.

“Iran’s participation in the World Cup – even on the territory of what is perceived as its enemy – shows that Iran seeks peace,” he said.

Slow progress in peace talks

Progress in Iran-US peace talks has been slow, with both sides seemingly moving towards an interim deal even as they continue to carry out military strikes.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted on state television on Wednesday as saying no «tangible progress» had been made in negotiations to end the war, which is in its fourth month.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would not allow Iran to include in its World Cup delegation individuals linked to the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.

That could apply to several players in the Iranian squad who have completed mandatory military service with the group.

The team will play their first Group G match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, where they will also play Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.

The team plans to fly to the U.S. on a private plane on match days and return to Tijuana the same day, the ambassador said. If that proves impossible, they travel by bus.

The drive between Tijuana and Los Angeles takes about 2.5 hours, but can easily take up to four or more hours depending on traffic and lines at the border.

It’s unclear how the team would manage to travel to Seattle by bus, a drive of at least 20 hours, if they couldn’t fly.

The uncertainty over visas has put the Iranian team at a competitive disadvantage and into physiological uncertainty due to the logistical challenges, Pasandideh said.

Still, he insisted that Iran and the US could establish friendly relations once the war is over.

“We are doing our best to convince the people of the United States that we have no problems with them and only have problems with the policies of (US President) Donald Trump,” he said.

Published on June 5, 2026