Gulf Insider
Members of Iran’s World Cup 2026 administrative staff have not been given visas to enter the United States, Iranian media reported on Saturday. According to US officials, while Iranian footballers have been granted visas for the tournament, which begins on Thursday in Mexico, some support staff are reportedly not being allowed to join the squad. On Friday, a White House official told Reuters that the players had received their visas, after Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said on Thursday that they had not. Iran plays its first match on June 16 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, California. Its participation in the tournament has been the subject of much speculation after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran at the end of February. Negotiations between the US and Iran are continuing, but both sides have continued to fire on enemy targets. Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim reported that the Iranian staff not granted visas include Mehdi Kharati, the executive director; Hedayat Mombini, the secretary general of the football federation; and Mohsen Motamedkia, media director. Staff members without visas will travel to Mexico with the team while efforts to obtain the documents continue, Tasnim said. Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team’s base […]
Go to News Site
