A bitter diplomatic row has erupted between Iran and the United States just days before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada, after Washington denied entry visas to a large contingent of key support staff for Iran’s national football squad. The dispute broke into the open Saturday as Iran’s first-team players prepared to depart their weeks-long training camp in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya for a pre-tournament base in Mexico.
On Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack took to social media platform X to announce that all members of Iran’s national team had received their travel visas, praising the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for its efficient processing work. But Iran’s Embassy in Ankara issued a sharp, immediate rebuke the following day, contradicting Barrack’s account and accusing Washington of deliberate, discriminatory targeting of the national squad.
“Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian mission wrote in its public X post. The statement added that the U.S. had “escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level.”
According to Iranian domestic news outlets and leading Iranian sports outlet Verzesh3, the visa rejections include high-profile figures such as Mehdi Taj, the president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, alongside multiple executive committee members and team analysts.
Tensions between the two nations have remained dangerously elevated since a joint U.S.-Israeli military bombing campaign against Iranian targets began in late February, which erupted into open hostilities. A fragile ceasefire agreed on April 8 has steadily unraveled in recent weeks, with both sides resuming offensive strikes and exchanging escalating threats.
Despite the diplomatic fallout from the visa dispute, Iran’s senior players have proceeded with their planned travel itinerary. Team Melli’s chartered flight departed Antalya at 15:20 local time (1220 GMT) Saturday, with a scheduled stopover in Spain en route to Mexico. The squad is expected to touch down in Mexico at 01:30 local time (0730 GMT) on Sunday.
Unlike the original plan that would have placed the team’s pre- and in-tournament training base on U.S. soil, Iran relocated its camp to the Mexican border city of Tijuana months ago, a change made in direct response to heightened geopolitical tensions between the two nations stemming from the ongoing conflict. Even with the team based in Mexico, all three of Iran’s Group G group-stage matches will take place across the U.S. border.
Iran is scheduled to kick off its World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by a second group match against Belgium in the same city six days later. The squad will wrap up group play against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
In the lead-up to the tournament, Iran held two warm-up friendlies at their Antalya training camp: a 3-1 victory over Gambia on May 29, and a 2-0 shutout win against Mali in their final preparation match on Thursday.