A White House official said the players’ entry documents had been approved overnight after Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said the squad was still waiting for US visas. The clearance removes the most immediate threat to Iran’s participation in its scheduled US-based group-stage fixtures, although some members of the wider technical and administrative delegation were still facing uncertainty over their applications.
Iran are due to begin their Group G campaign against New Zealand on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, near Los Angeles. They will remain at the same venue for a June 21 fixture against Belgium before travelling to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. The World Cup, expanded to 48 teams, begins on June 11 and runs until July 19 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The visa decision carries significance beyond tournament logistics. Iran’s participation has unfolded against a backdrop of sharp hostility between Tehran and Washington, with US officials signalling that individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would not be permitted to use the tournament as a route into the country. That position created concern over whether the squad, coaches and support personnel would be cleared in time for the matches.
Iran had already shifted its tournament base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, after FIFA confirmed the change in its list of team base camps. The relocation allows the squad to train near the US border and travel into the United States for match days, reducing the time spent on American soil while preserving the tournament schedule.
Mexico moved quickly to accommodate the Iranian delegation, while visa interviews for US entry were handled through the US Embassy in Ankara after the team’s preparations in Turkey. The unusual routing underlined the complications facing a team drawn to play all three group matches in the United States while diplomatic channels between Tehran and Washington remain strained.
FIFA has maintained that Iran would take part in the tournament and play its fixtures in the United States. President Gianni Infantino said at the football body’s Congress that Iran’s participation and US fixtures would proceed, an intervention aimed at damping speculation that geopolitics might disrupt the competition.
The Iranian Football Federation has sought to present the team’s participation as a sporting matter while criticising delays in travel arrangements. Iranian officials had requested multiple-entry visas because the team’s Mexico base requires repeated cross-border movement for matches, training logistics and possible knockout-stage commitments.
The issue has also highlighted the practical challenges of staging a World Cup across three countries at a time of heightened border and security scrutiny. Teams drawn into US venues must navigate federal entry rules, local organising requirements and FIFA’s operational timetable. For Iran, those hurdles are sharper because of sanctions, security designations and the absence of normal diplomatic relations with Washington.
On the pitch, Iran enter the tournament with a squad led by experienced forward Mehdi Taremi and former Premier League winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 26-man squad that did not include Sardar Azmoun, a high-profile omission given the striker’s long record for the national side. The decision has added another layer of scrutiny around a team already carrying a heavy political burden into the competition.
Group G presents a demanding route. Belgium bring elite European pedigree, Egypt arrive with Mohamed Salah and a generation seeking a breakthrough, while New Zealand offer a disciplined opening test that Iran cannot afford to underestimate. The top two teams in each group advance to the round of 32, with eight of the best third-placed sides also progressing.
For tournament organisers, the visa clearance prevents an early flashpoint from overshadowing the opening week. SoFi Stadium is already central to the World Cup schedule, with multiple group matches and later knockout fixtures. Iran’s first two appearances there are expected to draw close attention from security planners, diplomats and football officials.
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