Iran Players Receive US Visas for 2026 World Cup as Some Staff Are Denied

Players on Iran’s national football team have received visas that will allow them to enter and compete in the United States for the 2026 World Cup, a White House official said. The approvals were issued overnight, according to the White House, and came after months of uncertainty over Iran’s participation.

Iran’s opening match is against New Zealand on June 15 in Los Angeles. The team will also face Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle. U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack confirmed the processing on Friday in a post on X, thanking the “U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran’s national football team on their road to the @FIFAWorldCup in the United States.”

A U.S. official confirmed to ABC News on Friday that the players have received visas. Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei will lead the side at the tournament. The squad is scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday after Iran negotiated a last-minute change of its team base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico.

The U.S. Embassy has so far refused to issue visas to some members of the national team’s technical and executive staff. Iran’s football federation has not yet issued a statement on the visa grants. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the United States would not allow Iran to include individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its World Cup delegation.

Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s football federation and a former Revolutionary Guards commander, was denied entry for the tournament draw in Washington in December. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said the U.S. has never formally stated it does not want the Iranian team to stay on its territory.

Speaking through a Spanish interpreter at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City, Pasandideh added that Iran’s participation in the World Cup shows that Iran seeks peace.