Iranian National Team Bases in Tijuana After U.S. Denies Visas to Delegation Members, Including Former IRGC Official

The Iranian national football team arrived in Tijuana on June 7 to begin preparations for its World Cup group-stage matches in the United States. U.S. visas, including Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian football federation and a former member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization.

The federation changed the team's base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana two weeks before arrival because of the visa denials and security concerns. The squad will train at Estadio Caliente under heavy Mexican police and military escort, with additional security posted at the hotel and stadium entrances. About a dozen fans greeted the players at the airport.

Sadegh Galavi, a mechanic in his thirties who lives in Tijuana, rose at dawn to watch the team bus depart. "I'm very excited to see them," he told AFP. Hossein Nikyar, an engineer in his forties, drove overnight from Los Angeles with his son to meet the team.

"It's safer for them to be here than in Los Angeles anyway, because many Iranians in LA are royalists who want to take down the government," he said. Nikyar already holds tickets for Iran's match in Los Angeles. Sina Moghadam traveled from San Diego to welcome the players.

"Iran's history goes back thousands of years. Things like this only make us stronger; they won't destabilize the team," he said. Players and support staff will fly into and out of the United States on each match day.

Iran's group-stage matches are scheduled in Los Angeles and Seattle against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.