Tehran : Amidst heightened geopolitical tensions, Iran’s World Cup football team has finally secured US visas, allowing them to compete in the tournament and highlighting the complex relationship between the two nations on a global sporting stage.
Iran’s World Cup soccer players have been granted visas to enter the United States, a White House official said, just 10 days before their first match in Los Angeles amid a conflict between the two countries.
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said the squad had still not received their US visas but these were granted overnight, the White House official said.
A spokesman for Iran’s World Cup federation could not immediately be reached for comment.
The US had not yet issued visas to some members of the Iran team’s technical and administrative staff, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.
“Visas for some members of the national team’s technical and executive staff have not yet been issued, and the US embassy has so far refused to issue them,” it said, without citing a source.
The Iran war has turned the World Cup – the biggest global sporting event – into a geopolitical contest, with both sides appearing to use the tournament for political posturing.
It is the first World Cup, since its inception in 1930, in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team’s base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa issues and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday.
Iran are due to play their first Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.(Reuters )
FIFA World Cup:Iran’s players granted visas to enter the US
