Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, confirmed on June 6 that players have handed over their passports to the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey, to obtain visas for the 2026 World Cup. The move comes as the fate of Iran's team in the tournament remains uncertain given continued tensions between Tehran and Washington.
"Yesterday I discussed U.S. visas with FIFA. We were instructed to submit all passports to the U.S. embassy in Ankara," Taj said. He noted that the federation "raised several points and demands, telling FIFA that if the Americans do not issue visas for the players, coaching staff and other delegation members, we may take a different decision." Still, Taj assessed that "all visas will be issued without problems, most likely."
Iran's squad is scheduled to fly from Turkey to Spain on June 7, then travel to a training camp in Mexico, which has already granted visas for the team. "We are waiting to see what happens today or by tomorrow at the latest, because the national team needs to get their passports back and travel together to Tijuana," Taj added.
Iran originally planned to base themselves in Tucson, Arizona, but later switched to the border city of Tijuana in northwestern Mexico. All three of Iran's group-stage matches will take place on U.S. soil: against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles, and against Egypt on June 27 in Seattle.
Earlier, Iran beat Mali 2-0 in their final friendly before the World Cup on June 5.
