Mexico, June 10: The Iranian national football team will be allowed to enter the United States one day before each of their World Cup matches. This confirmation was provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday. The DHS also dismissed reports suggesting that the team would have to travel on match days.
This clarification follows statements made by Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Panzadeh, who indicated that the team would need to arrive and depart on the same day as their matches. Such news raised concerns about travel logistics and the potential impact on the team’s performance.
A DHS spokesperson stated, “Iran will not be forced to arrive on match day. Those claims are incorrect. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s leniency, the Iranian team will be able to arrive a day prior to their matches.”
Currently, the Iranian team is training in Tijuana, Mexico. After weeks of uncertainty, U.S. officials granted visas to all team members just ten days before the competition begins.
However, several officials from the Iranian delegation were denied entry, including the team manager, two analysts, the media director, and a representative from the foreign ministry, as reported by the Iranian embassy in Mexico.
Iran will kick off its World Cup campaign on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles. They will face Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Initially, Iran’s training camp was set to be in Arizona, but it was relocated due to safety concerns following declarations of war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel in February.
President Trump announced in March that Iran would be welcomed at the tournament but also noted that it would not be appropriate for players to remain in the U.S. between matches.
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