The Iranian national football team has been forced to base itself in Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the United States imposed unprecedented entry restrictions on the delegation.
Iran is the only country participating in the tournament that has been subjected to such conditions. Under the restrictions, Iranian players and staff may only enter the United States on match days and must leave immediately after their games conclude.
The squad has relocated its training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, on the US border, where it will remain for the duration of the tournament.
While all Iranian players have received US visas, more than a dozen support staff and officials have been denied entry. Among those rejected is Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation and a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the United States.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that Washington will not permit individuals linked to the IRGC to enter the country as part of Iran’s World Cup delegation. A US administration official warned that the United States will not allow Iran to “abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses”.
Iran has condemned the treatment, with its embassy in Turkey accusing the US of “deliberate and discriminatory treatment” and calling on FIFA to hold the United States accountable for violating its rules. The Iranian Football Federation described the decision as “political interference in sport in its worst form”.
Iranian Ambassador to Mexico Abolfazl Pasandideh confirmed the restrictions, telling reporters that the team “can enter in the morning and we must leave the same day”. Iran plays its three group matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
The United States has a broader travel ban on Iranian citizens, though exemptions exist for athletes and team personnel. No other World Cup participating nation faces similar entry restrictions.
