White House official confirms Iran players granted visas to enter the US for World Cup

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]Iran[/a]'s ambassador to ‌Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday the squad had still not received their US visas but ‌these were granted overnight, the White House official said.[/p][p]A spokesman for Iran's ‌World Cup federation could not immediately be reached for comment.[/p][p]The US had not yet ‌issued visas to some members of the Iran team's technical and administrative staff, ‌the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.[/p][p]"[b]Visas for some members of the national team's technical and executive staff have not yet been issued, and the US embassy has so far ‌refused to issue them[/b]," it said, without citing a ⁠source.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]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.[/p][p]They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday.[/p][p]Iran are due to play their first Group G match on June 15th against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a] in ‌Los Angeles, where they will also face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a] before taking on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a] in Seattle.[/p][p]The US had never formally said it did not want the Iranian team to stay on its territory, Ambassador Pasandideh said.[/p][p]However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that 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.[/p][p]Mehdi Taj, president of Iran's football federation, was denied entry for the tournament draw in Washington in December. He is a former commander ‌in the Revolutionary Guards.[/p][p]Iran's desire to compete in the World Cup underscored its ​efforts to reach a resolution in the war with Washington, Pasandideh said.[/p][p]"[b]Iran's ‌participation in the World Cup -- even on the soil of what is seen as its enemy -- shows that Iran seeks peace[/b]," Pasandideh said, speaking through a Spanish interpreter at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City.[/p][p]Progress in peace talks between Iran and the US has been slow, with both sides seemingly ⁠inching toward an interim agreement even ⁠as they continue to carry out ‌military strikes.[/p]