Iran to travel to US day before its first World Cup match

Iran's football federation announced on Tuesday its national team's schedule for the group stage of the Fifa World Cup, a tournament that is beginning under difficult circumstances for the Islamic republic.

While the players obtained the visas necessary to enter the United States — which is in open military conflict with Tehran — and play their group-stage matches in Los Angeles and Seattle, not all delegation members received them.

The visa dispute erupted just days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off on Thursday. The tournament is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Iranian team will be based in Tijuana throughout the tournament, despite playing their entire group stage in the United States.

"In accordance with Fifa's programme, the team delegation will travel to the United States on a charter flight," the Iranian federation's spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi said in a statement carried by Iran's Isna news agency.

"The team will travel to the host city one day before the match against New Zealand, and for the following two matches, we will be at the host venue two days before the game," he added.

Iran's Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali separately warned against the display of certain symbols during matches.

"If, in the stadiums where we play, we see any flag or symbol other than that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, or if norm-breaking slogans are chanted, the team official will certainly have a duty to stop the match," he was quoted by Iran's official Irna news agency as saying.

"It is the responsibility of the organisers to rectify the situation," he added.

Iran's participation in the World Cup has been marred by visa issues that Tehran says have prevented some 15 administrative and management staff in its delegation from entering the United States.

Iran open their campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before facing Belgium in the same city on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.