After months of doubts over their participation, Iran’s players have received visas for the United States just days before the World Cup begins.
After months of uncertainty about its participation at the World Cup, Iran’s soccer team has finally been granted visas to enter the United States, where it is scheduled to play all three of its group stage games, according to four senior officials.
With their country at war with one of the World Cup hosts, the United States — a first in the tournament’s near-100-year history — Iranian soccer players and officials were forced to wait almost until the start of the event to find out whether they would actually be allowed to compete.
On Friday, an Iranian official was quickly dispatched to collect passports that had been handed in as part of the approval process, one official said. Applications from all members of the 26-man roster have been accepted, but more than a dozen members of the support staff — that could include coaches, trainers, analysts and medical personnel — and Iranian soccer federation officials expected to accompany the team were rejected, according to the four officials. The president of the Iranian federation, Mehdi Taj, a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also had his visa rejected, the first official added.
FIFA, soccer’s governing body whose president, Gianni Infantino, has developed a close relationship with President Trump, had been working behind the scenes to handle one of the biggest crises in tournament history, Mr. Taj told The New York Times in an interview earlier this week. Mr. Infantino had met with Iranian officials in March, and his deputy, Secretary General Mattias Grafström, traveled to Turkey last month as Iran arrived to begin a weekslong training camp.
The four officials who confirmed the Iranian visas were approved have direct knowledge of the team’s visa status, but were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
One, an administration official, said the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup were issued to athletes and necessary support staff. The official said that the system would not be abused to allow anyone to be admitted to the country under false pretenses.
Paolo Zampolli, a longtime Trump ally and the administration’s Special Representative for Global Partnerships, told The Times the decision to limit who could enter the United States was taken to “protect the homeland.”
Iran is scheduled to play three games on the American West Coast, beginning on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles. They play against Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
As the team waited for news about its ability to enter the United States, the players have been working out in southwestern Turkey. Iran had planned to base itself in Tucson, Ariz., for the World Cup before abruptly relocating its plans to Tijuana, Mexico, near the United States border. That decision, Mr. Taj told The Times this week, was made with FIFA to minimize the amount of time the team had to spend in the United States.
The team will be required to travel to the United States at least two days before games to conduct media activities and practice in tournament stadiums.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the team would be welcomed to play in the World Cup, but trainers or other officials with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would not be allowed into the United States.
Iran has repeatedly expressed frustration over the treatment of the team in the buildup to what will be the biggest World Cup to date, with 48 teams playing in three countries. Domestic professional soccer in Iran was suspended in the immediate aftermath of the joint United States-Israeli attack on the country at the end of February. Since then, many of the players on the roster have been limited to practicing at camps in Iran and, most recently, Turkey.
Perhaps the least surprising visa rejection concerns Mr. Taj.
The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has had difficulty traveling in recent months. He was among officials denied credentials for the tournament draw in Washington in December. Last month, Canadian authorities revoked his documents while he was transiting to Vancouver via Toronto for FIFA’s annual meeting. Mr. Taj said that after several hours of talks with Canadian officials, he returned home in protest with the rest of Iran’s delegation. The United States and Canada have designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist entity.
Iranian officials and government members have at times demanded that their team be allowed to play while also saying that the nation would consider its place in the tournament. That type of mixed messaging has been mirrored in the United States, where President Trump said Iran might want to reconsider its participation on safety grounds and also that it was welcome to play.
“We have qualified for the World Cup, and the best facilities must be provided to us for the games,” Mr. Taj told The Times this week. “There is something in football called fair play that all countries need to have equal opportunities.”
