{"id":690168,"date":"2026-06-07T17:45:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T17:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/690168\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T17:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T17:45:13","slug":"tehran-lambasts-us-obstruction-of-irans-soccer-team-as-players-land-in-mexico-ahead-of-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/690168\/","title":{"rendered":"Tehran lambasts US \u2018obstruction\u2019 of Iran\u2019s soccer team as players land in Mexico ahead of World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/p>\n

Iran’s soccer team arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, as tensions rise with the US over visa restrictions ahead of the World Cup.
\n Tehran officials say players received permission to enter the US only one day before their first match in Los Angeles.
\n This marks the first World Cup where a host nation receives a country it is at war with, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n

\n AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/p>\n

\n Iran\u2019s soccer team touched down in Mexico\u2019s northwestern city of Tijuana on Sunday \u2013 a stone\u2019s throw from the United States border \u2013 as Tehran criticized Washington over its visa restrictions ahead of the World Cup<\/a> this summer.\n <\/p>\n

\n The president of Iran\u2019s football federation, Mehdi Taj, said Sunday that the Iranian soccer team had been granted permission to enter the US for the tournament<\/a>, but \u201conly one day before the match,\u201d according to semi-official Iranian media, sparking accusations of unfair treatment.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe do not know how far the Americans\u2019 obstructionism will continue,\u201d Iranian Students\u2019 News Agency (ISNA) cited Taj as saying. \u201cWhat the United States is doing reflects malice and a lack of equality among teams.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A US administration official told CNN that the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including those for athletes and necessary support staff, have been issued. The two nations remain at war with no sign<\/a> of an immediate breakthrough in peace negotiations.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses,\u201d the official said.\n <\/p>\n

\n Soccer is more than just Iran\u2019s most popular sport. Public support for the national team cuts through social, regional and political lines, making it a uniting force for millions of Iranians.\n <\/p>\n

\"Iran's<\/p>\n

\n As a result, qualifying for the World Cup has long been a source of national pride. But the US and Israel\u2019s war with Iran, alongside recent economic and political turmoil at home, has turned the soccer pitch into a stage for soft power, drawing attention away from the game itself.\n <\/p>\n

\n Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21, and Egypt in Seattle on June 26, according to FIFA, the governing body that organizes the World Cup. Those matches are expected to be shown in cinemas across Iran, subject to the \u201cnecessary approvals,\u201d Iranian state media organization IRIB said Sunday.\n <\/p>\n

\n This is the first World Cup since the tournament\u2019s inception in 1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country with which it is actively at war, according to Reuters.\n <\/p>\n

Back-and-forth from Mexico<\/p>\n

\"IRAN_ARRIVE.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Iran soccer team arrives in Tijuana, Mexico\n <\/p>\n

\"IRAN_ARRIVE.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Iran soccer team arrives in Tijuana, Mexico<\/p>\n

1:41<\/p>\n

\n On Sunday, the team touched down in Tijuana, Mexico \u2013 just across the border from San Diego, California \u2013 several Iranian outlets reported. Last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Iranian squad would stay in Mexico<\/a> between the matches.\n <\/p>\n

\n A spokesperson for the Iranian football federation said this weekend that the team would travel to the US using a multiple-entry visa, entering one day before the first match and two days before each of the next two matches, Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.\n <\/p>\n

\n Taj called it \u201ctruly strange\u201d that Washington was interfering in the administration of the sporting event, adding that the Iranian football federation would submit a protest to FIFA. CNN has reached out to the governing body for comment.\n <\/p>\n

\"Fans<\/p>\n

\n The federation president also speculated that the US might try to interfere with the team\u2019s entry to the country while appearing to link Washington\u2019s decision-making to the ongoing war.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe do not know what kind of mischief they might create at the airport. They were defeated in some areas by the resistance of the people, and they are now trying to make up for those defeats and vent their frustrations on the football field,\u201d ISNA cited Taj as saying.\n <\/p>\n

\n Meanwhile, Amir Ghalenoei, the team\u2019s head coach, added that some management staff, media personnel and an executive director have still not been granted permission to attend the tournament.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI ask you, what kind of treatment is this? I hope this situation is corrected and that such behavior is not repeated in the future,\u201d Ghalenoei said Sunday, according to Tasnim.\n <\/p>\n

\n Adding to the chorus of criticism, the Iranian Embassy in Ankara said in a statement that the US was \u201cdepriving Iran\u2019s national team of its right to participate in the World Cup under normal conditions and without unnecessary pressure and stress.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is the worst possible form of political interference in sport,\u201d the embassy said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Summary Iran’s soccer team arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, as tensions rise with the US over visa restrictions ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-690168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}