Iran's football federation chief has confirmed that no visas have yet been issued for the national team to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, according to state media reports cited by AFP.
Decisive Meeting with FIFA
“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,” said Mehdi Taj, the federation chief, as quoted by the state news agency IRNA. “We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet,” he added.
Fingerprinting Process in Turkey
Players were expected to travel to Ankara, the Turkish capital, for fingerprinting as part of the visa process. However, Taj noted efforts to arrange this in Antalya to avoid unnecessary travel. “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 explained.
Background of Tensions
The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, leading to a war that extended across the Gulf, 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 and the Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran.
Team Preparations
Iran held a send-off ceremony on Wednesday for the team preparing to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Iran’s national team, known as TeamMelli, will be based in Tucson, Arizona during the tournament. They open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by matches against Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
