Iran’s football federation says the United States has not yet issued visas for the country’s national team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Federation chief Mehdi Taj said Iranian officials were seeking urgent guarantees from FIFA over the unresolved visa process, according to state news agency IRNA.
“Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA. They must give us guarantees, because the visa issue has still not been resolved,” Taj said.
He added that Iranian authorities had received no confirmation over which members of the squad had been approved for travel to the United States.
“We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet,” he said.
Iranian players are expected to travel to Ankara for fingerprinting as part of the visa application process. However, Taj said efforts were under way to move the procedure to Antalya to avoid additional travel for the squad.
“The players must travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but we are trying to arrange for this to be done in Antalya so there will be no need to travel to Ankara,” he said.
The visa concerns come amid continued tensions between Iran and the United States, which have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980 following the US embassy hostage crisis after Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
Iran also remains locked in regional conflict involving Israel, although a fragile ceasefire has reportedly been in place since last month.
Despite the uncertainty, Iran recently held a send-off ceremony for the national side, known as Team Melli, ahead of the expanded 48-team tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Iran’s squad is expected to be based in Tucson during the competition.
Team Melli will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles next month before facing Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
