A White House official told Reuters that Iran’s World Cup squad has been granted visas to enter the United States, a development announced on Friday ahead of the team’s first match in Los Angeles. The visas were confirmed after Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday that the delegation had not yet received them.
Pasandideh said the visas were issued overnight. A spokesman for Iran’s football federation was not immediately available for comment.
Amid the uncertainty, Iranian officials negotiated a last-minute change of base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. The move reflected both the visa complications and a sense in Tehran that the team’s time on U.S. soil should be minimized. The squad is scheduled to land in Tijuana early Sunday morning and will travel to Los Angeles for its opening Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand. Iran will also meet Belgium before playing Egypt in Seattle.
The tournament has taken on added geopolitical significance because it is the first World Cup since 1930 in which a host nation is set to host a country it is at war with. Pasandideh said the United States has never formally told Iran it did not want the team on U.S. territory.
U.S. officials have, however, said they would bar any members of the Iranian delegation who are linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces. That restriction could affect several players who previously completed mandatory military service with the IRGC.
The presidency of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj — a former Revolutionary Guards commander — was refused entry to the U.S. for the World Cup draw in Washington in December.
Pasandideh framed Iran’s participation in the tournament as a sign that Tehran seeks a reduction in hostilities. Speaking at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City through a Spanish interpreter, he said Iran’s willingness to play on what it regards as an enemy’s soil demonstrated a preference for peace.
Meanwhile, progress in talks between Iran and the United States has been slow. Both sides have reportedly moved incrementally toward a possible interim agreement even as military strikes have continued.