Iran Players Receive U.S. Visas as Some Staff Are Denied Entry
Team Melli’s World Cup visa situation has taken a major step forward, with Iranian players cleared to enter the United States while uncertainty remains for several staff members.
Iran’s national team players have reportedly been granted U.S. visas ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ending months of uncertainty over whether the squad would be able to play its group stage matches in the United States.
U.S. officials said visas had been issued to the players and necessary support staff, but Iranian officials accused Washington of denying entry to several members of the team’s wider delegation.
Iran’s embassy in Türkiye criticized the decision, calling it politically biased interference in sport and saying a large portion of managerial, executive, and technical staff had not received visas.
Iranian state-linked reports said some football federation officials were among those denied entry, while other reports said more than a dozen members of the support staff or delegation were rejected or remained without visas.
The dispute comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iranian delegation members with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would not be allowed to enter the United States as part of the World Cup delegation.
The New York Times reported that all members of Iran’s 26-man roster had been approved, but several staff members and federation officials were not. WANA later reported that Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of Iran, had not applied for a U.S. visa and was not part of the review process.
Iran had originally planned to base itself in Tucson, Arizona, but later moved its World Cup base camp to Tijuana, Mexico, in a decision made to reduce the amount of time the team would need to spend in the United States.
Team Melli is still scheduled to play all three Group G matches in the U.S., opening against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, facing Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21, and then traveling to Seattle to play Egypt on June 26.
Iranian officials have called on FIFA to intervene, arguing that the visa restrictions have disrupted preparations and created unequal conditions ahead of the tournament.