The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, declared this Thursday (14) that the country’s delegation has not yet received the necessary visas to travel to the United States for the World Cup.
Iran’s participation in the tournament, which takes place between June 11 and July 19, has remained shrouded in uncertainty since the start of the war in the Middle East at the end of February, following attacks launched by the United States and Israel against the country.
“Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a crucial meeting with FIFA [Federação Internacional de Futebol]. They need to give us guarantees because the visa issue remains unresolved,” Taj said, as quoted by IRNA news agency.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino reiterated that Iran will play its World Cup matches in the United States as determined by the draw for the tournament, which also includes hosts Canada and Mexico.
“We have not received any information from the other side about who has obtained the visas. The visas have not been issued yet,” Taj added.
Tehran and Washington have not maintained diplomatic relations since 1980, following the US embassy hostage crisis.
According to the president of the Iranian federation, players need to travel to the Turkish capital, Ankara, to be fingerprinted as part of the visa process.
“We have nothing to do with the United States. We qualified for the World Cup and it is up to FIFA to organize it,” declared the director.
“If FIFA cannot guarantee that all qualified teams, including Iran, can enter the host country’s territory without discrimination or restrictions, the very credibility of the World Cup will be compromised,” wrote Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, on the social network X.
Iran held a farewell ceremony for its national team with fans in Tehran on Wednesday (13), before leaving for the 2026 World Cup.
The Iranian team, which will be based in Tucson, Arizona, will face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in group G.
