Four staff members from Iran’s World Cup delegation have finally been cleared to enter the United States, ending months of uncertainty for part of the team’s support staff. But 11 others connected to the Iranian Football Federation are still locked out of the country hosting three of Iran’s group-stage matches, according to BBC reporting.
The visa fight goes back to earlier this year, when the US government denied entry to 15 people tied to Iran’s national team setup, a mix of senior football officials and operational staff. The rejections forced Iran to scrap its plan to base the team in the United States. The squad set up training camp instead in Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border from San Diego, after FIFA approved the switch.
From Mexico, ten of the rejected staff applied again for US visas. Four got through this time. One works as a technical analyst for the team, and two more come from the federation’s international relations department, the BBC reported. The remaining 11, including the six who reapplied and were again denied entry, still cannot enter the US.
Among those still blocked are Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s Football Federation, and federation vice president Mehdi Mohammed Nabi. Two team administrators, a media officer and a security officer were also denied. A second media officer didn’t bother filing a new application after an earlier rejection.
US officials haven’t explained each decision, but the broader dispute centers on alleged ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US has no issue with Iran’s players or their direct support staff, but won’t allow people connected to the Guard Corps into the country. Taj himself had a separate Canadian visa pulled earlier this year over similar concerns about his past ties to the group.
It helps to separate this dispute from the players themselves. Iran’s footballers received their US visas as a group weeks ago, clearing the way for them to compete. The fight that has dragged on since is mostly about the officials and staff who travel with the team: federation leadership, administrators, and press officers.
Iran’s federation has called the staff denials discriminatory and accused Washington of letting politics interfere with sport. A US official pushed back on that framing, saying the country won’t let anyone use the World Cup as a way to enter under pretenses.
It isn’t an isolated complaint. Iranian players have said a referee from Somalia was also blocked from entering the US for the tournament, adding to friction around the event’s entry rules.
With the World Cup group stage already underway, Iran is playing its three Group G matches against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in California and Seattle. The visa dispute hasn’t kept the team off the field, but it has kept much of its federation leadership outside the country where its players are competing.