ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — On Saturday, Iran’s national soccer team departed from Turkey, heading to their training camp in Mexico. This move comes as they prepare for upcoming World Cup matches set to take place in the United States later this month. However, reports indicate that some members of their delegation are still awaiting U.S. visas.
According to Iranian state television, Hedayat Mombeini, the secretary-general of the Iranian Football Federation, and Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, its vice president, are among 14 officials and support staff who have yet to secure U.S. visas. This situation poses a potential challenge ahead of their scheduled games in Los Angeles and Seattle.
The visa status of Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, remains uncertain at this time.
The ongoing conflict in Iran has further complicated the team’s World Cup plans. Difficulties in obtaining visas prompted Iran to relocate its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which sits just across the border from California.
The Iranian Football Federation has criticized the U.S. for what it describes as “vindictive behavior,” alleging that visas are being withheld from “key managerial and administrative members” crucial to the team’s operations.
The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation’s website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.
The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.
“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”
One U.S. official earlier told The Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the visas publicly.
The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.
The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city’s airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.
Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.
Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.
Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
___ Seung Min Kim and Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Washington.