The ongoing political tensions in the Middle East are also spilling over to the World Cup football field. Diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States, one of the hosts of this year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, are currently at their lowest point.
\nDue to these mutual tensions, Iran’s journey to this year’s World Cup was initially quite uncertain. However, overcoming various obstacles, from visa complications to changes in the plan to set up a base camp, the Iranian national football team has arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, to participate in the World Cup. The team flew from Turkey early Saturday and landed in this Mexican border city.
\nEarlier, the Iranian team had been in a training camp in Anatolia, Turkey for the past three weeks. They were mainly staying there to complete the visa procedures for the three host countries\u2014the United States, Mexico and Canada. However, despite all this, Washington has refused to issue visas to some members of the Iranian team. This has created a new controversy. Although the team’s base camp was initially planned to be in Arizona, USA, it was changed at the last minute to Mexico due to visa uncertainties. The Iranian Football Federation claimed that while the players’ visas were finally approved, some key administrative and management officials of the team were not granted visas.
\nThe decision, which comes just days before the start of the World Cup, has sparked outrage in Iran. The country’s embassy in Turkey said that visa applications for 15 administrative and management officials had been rejected. In a statement, the embassy accused the United States of “deliberate and discriminatory treatment” of the Iranian national team and called on world football’s governing body FIFA to investigate the matter.
\nThe Iranian Football Federation described the decision as “the most egregious example of political interference in sports”. Local media reported that federation president Mehdi Taj was among those denied visas. Meanwhile, a new controversy has erupted over the Iranian team’s position in the United States. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, told reporters that the team had been told that their visa requirements required them to enter and exit the United States on the day of the match.
\nHowever, national team spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi told state television that the team had been granted multiple entry permits and would be in the United States for one day before the first match and two days before the subsequent matches. Meanwhile, a US administration official said that visas had been granted to players and essential support staff required for the World Cup. He did not give details about those who were denied visas. He added, “We are vigilant to ensure that no one enters the United States under false identities.”
\nEarlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested that some members of the Iranian delegation may have links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US has designated a terrorist organisation. Iran, in Group G at the World Cup, will play their first match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They will then face Belgium in the same city on June 21. Iran will play their final group match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ongoing political tensions in the Middle East are also spilling over to the World…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67411,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-en"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1780895917",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1?v=1780895917",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1?v=1780895917",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1?v=1780895917",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1?v=1780895917",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1780895917",1280,720,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1780895917",1280,720,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?resize=1115%2C715&ssl=1?v=1780895917",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?resize=800%2C500&ssl=1?v=1780895917",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1?v=1780895917",1024,576,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?resize=540%2C340&ssl=1?v=1780895917",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1?v=1780895917",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"Biz Trend 24","author_link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/author\/online24"},"category_info":"Sports<\/a>","tag_info":"Sports","comment_count":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-42-1.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1?v=1780895917","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60682,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=60682&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":0},"title":"Demand to exclude the United States from the World Cup","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"March 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"US President Donald Trump has given a secret warning to Iran regarding the 2026 World Cup. The West Asian country has also responded sarcastically. The Iranian national football team has said that no one can kick them out of the World Cup. Iranian footballers have demanded that the United States\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_-_2026-03-14T135946.350_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1773475249&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_-_2026-03-14T135946.350_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1773475249&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_-_2026-03-14T135946.350_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1773475249&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_-_2026-03-14T135946.350_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1773475249&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_-_2026-03-14T135946.350_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1773475249&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42290,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=42290&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":1},"title":"Over 4.5 million applications for tickets in first phase of 2026 World Cup","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"September 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Fans around the world are slowly building excitement around the 2026 World Cup. This was evident in the first phase of ticket sales. According to a report released by FIFA, more than 4.5 million people have applied for the lottery to buy tickets for the tournament. The highest number of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-2025-09-20T132304.438.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-2025-09-20T132304.438.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-2025-09-20T132304.438.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-2025-09-20T132304.438.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Untitled-design-2025-09-20T132304.438.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61395,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=61395&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":2},"title":"FIFA sued over ‘skyscraping’ World Cup ticket prices","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"March 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Is the World Cup a luxury for the rich? The European football supporters' alliance 'Football Supporters Europe' has sued FIFA over the 'skyscraping' prices of tickets for the 2026 World Cup. The formal complaint was filed on Tuesday (March 24). The final ticket price has increased more than 7 times\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_9_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1774439657&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_9_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1774439657&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_9_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1774439657&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_9_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1774439657&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled_design_9_1200x630.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1774439657&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26767,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=26767&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":3},"title":"64 teams in the 2030 World Cup!","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"March 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2030 World Cup will be 100 years old. The first World Cup was held in 1930. FIFA wants to celebrate the World Cup this time on the occasion of the centenary. It has been proposed that 64 teams will play in the 2030 World Cup. However, this decision has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-08-105421.jpg?fit=638%2C352&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-08-105421.jpg?fit=638%2C352&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Screenshot-2025-03-08-105421.jpg?fit=638%2C352&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56292,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=56292&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":4},"title":"Lahore buys Mustafizur Rahman for a huge price","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"February 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Lahore Qalandars have directly signed Mustafizur Rahman for the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The franchise has spent 64.4 million Pakistani rupees on it. In Bangladeshi currency, this is more than 28.1 million taka. They confirmed the deal through a post on social media today, Thursday (February 5). Lahore Qalandars authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-05T153427.027_1200x630-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770284242&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-05T153427.027_1200x630-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770284242&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-05T153427.027_1200x630-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770284242&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-05T153427.027_1200x630-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770284242&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Untitled_design_-_2026-02-05T153427.027_1200x630-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1%3Fv%3D1770284242&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":67404,"url":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?p=67404&lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":67410,"position":5},"title":"Bad news for Brazil ahead of World Cup","author":"Biz Trend 24","date":"June 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Brazil full-back Wesley has been ruled out of the World Cup with a thigh injury. Midfielder Ederson has been called up to Brazil's World Cup squad instead. The 26-year-old has been playing for Atalanta in Italy since 2022. Brazil beat Egypt 2-1 in their final warm-up match before the World\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/?cat=111&lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-41-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-41-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-41-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-41-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/biztrend24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Untitled-design-41-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67413,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67410\/revisions\/67413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/67411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biztrend24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}