With only weeks remaining until the opening ceremony in North America, the Iranian football federation has raised alarm over the delayed issuance of U.S World Cup visas.
This is as the football federation warned that the national team’s participation remains in jeopardy.
Despite a high-profile send-off rally held in the capital this Thursday, Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj confirmed that the delayed U.S World Cup visas.
Taj declared that no entry permits have been issued yet for the squad.
The Iranian delegation, known as “Team Melli,” is scheduled to fly to a training camp in Türkiye later this week to undergo mandatory fingerprinting.
However, Taj expressed deep frustration with the pace of the U.S. State Department’s processing, noting that the federation has received “no account from the other side” regarding which players or staff have been approved.
“Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA. They must give us guarantees, because the visa issue has still not been resolved,” the state news agency IRNA quoted federation chief Mehdi Taj as saying.
“We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet,” he added.
“The players must travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but we are trying to arrange for this to be done in Antalya so there will be no need to travel to Ankara,” he said.
Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since February 28, though a fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8.
Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since 1980 following the hostage crisis at the US embassy that came after the Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah.
Iran held a send-off ceremony on Wednesday for the national football team as it prepared to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Iran’s national team, also known as TeamMelli, will be based in Tucson, Arizona during the World Cup.
The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before lining up against Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
