Iran's World Cup football team players have been granted visas to enter the US, just 10 days before their first match in Los Angeles amid a conflict between the two countries.
Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday the squad had still not received their US visas but these were granted overnight, a White House official told Reuters on Friday.
A spokesman for Iran's World Cup federation could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a post on X, the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, said he was proud of the US embassy in Ankara, which processed the visas.
“Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world,” he wrote.
Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team's base from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa issues and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the United States should be kept to a minimum.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday.
Iran are due to play their first Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.
The Iran war has turned the World Cup – the biggest global sporting event – into a geopolitical contest, with both sides appearing to use the tournament for political posturing.
It is the first World Cup, since its inception in 1930, in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the US would not allow Iran to include in its World Cup delegation individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.
