Tehran lambasts US ‘obstruction’ of Iran’s soccer team as players land in Mexico ahead of World Cup

By Billy Stockwell and Aida Karimi, CNN

(CNN) — Iran’s soccer team touched down in Mexico’s northwestern city of Tijuana on Sunday – a stone’s throw from the United States border – as Tehran criticized Washington over its visa restrictions ahead of the World Cup this summer.

The president of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, said Sunday that the Iranian soccer team had been granted permission to enter the US for the tournament, but “only one day before the match,” according to semi-official Iranian media, sparking accusations of unfair treatment.

“We do not know how far the Americans’ obstructionism will continue,” Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) cited Taj as saying. “What the United States is doing reflects malice and a lack of equality among teams.”

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 of an immediate breakthrough in peace negotiations.

“We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses,” the official said.

Soccer is more than just Iran’s 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.

As a result, qualifying for the World Cup has long been a source of national pride. But the US and Israel’s 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.

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 “necessary approvals,” Iranian state media organization IRIB said Sunday.

This is the first World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country with which it is actively at war, according to Reuters.

Back-and-forth from Mexico

On Sunday, the team touched down in Tijuana, Mexico – just across the border from San Diego, California – several Iranian outlets reported. Last month, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Iranian squad would stay in Mexico between the matches.

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.

Taj called it “truly strange” 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.

The federation president also speculated that the US might try to interfere with the team’s entry to the country while appearing to link Washington’s decision-making to the ongoing war.

“We 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,” ISNA cited Taj as saying.

Meanwhile, Amir Ghalenoei, the team’s head coach, added that some management staff, media personnel and an executive director have still not been granted permission to attend the tournament.

“I ask you, what kind of treatment is this? I hope this situation is corrected and that such behavior is not repeated in the future,” Ghalenoei said Sunday, according to Tasnim.

Adding to the chorus of criticism, the Iranian Embassy in Ankara said in a statement that the US was “depriving Iran’s national team of its right to participate in the World Cup under normal conditions and without unnecessary pressure and stress.”

“This is the worst possible form of political interference in sport,” the embassy said.

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CNN’s Dalia Abdelwahab and Lizzie McBride contributed reporting.