Players from Iran’s World Cup team have been granted visas to enter the United States, Reuters reported on Friday.
A White House official confirmed the news to Reuters, offering that the players had received their visas overnight, shortly after Iranian ambassador to Mexico Abolfazl Pasandideh had said they didn’t have them late Thursday.
Visas may not yet have been extended to technical and administrative staff, according to the Fars news agency, a semi-official outlet aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. Fars did not cite a source.
Regardless of that outcome, the players can now play.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Iran moved their base of operations to Tijuana, Mexico from their original plan of Arizona due to concerns over the continued conflict between Iran and the United States in the Middle East.
“Iran’s participation in the World Cup — even on the soil of what is seen as its enemy — shows that Iran seeks peace,” Pasandideh said.
On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed to Washington lawmakers that the country would not allow entry to individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. That would include Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s soccer federation, who was previously denied entry to the country in December. Taj is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran are in Group G for the World Cup along with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Iran’s opening match will be against New Zealand on June 15 in Inglewood, Calif., before playing Belgium on June 21 (Inglewood) and Egypt on June 26 (Seattle).
–Field Level Media
