Iran’s FIFA World Cup-bound players have been granted visas to enter the United States, a White House official said, just 10 days before the team’s first match in Los Angeles.
The decision came after Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late Thursday that the squad had still not received its US visas. According to the White House official, the visas were granted overnight.
Because of the visa issues, Tehran negotiated a last-minute change to the team’s base, moving it from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. The move also reflected a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.
Iran’s team is scheduled to arrive in Tijuana early Sunday morning.
Iran will play its first Group G match against New Zealand on June 15 in Los Angeles. The team is also set to face Belgium in Los Angeles before playing Egypt in Seattle.
The war between Iran and the United States has turned the World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting event, into a geopolitical contest. Both sides appear to be using the tournament for political posturing.
This will be the first World Cup since the tournament began in 1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
Pasandideh said the United States has never formally stated that it did not want the Iran team to stay on its territory.
However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the United States would not allow Iran to include individuals linked to the Revolutionary Guards in its World Cup delegation. The Revolutionary Guards are a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces.
That restriction could apply to several players in Iran’s squad who have completed mandatory military service with the group.