Iran’s football federation has confirmed that no visas have yet been issued by the United States for the country’s national team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Federation president Mehdi Taj disclosed this on Thursday, saying Iran would hold further talks with FIFA over the issue.
According to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, Taj said the federation was seeking guarantees from football’s world governing body regarding the visa process.
He said: “Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA.
“They must give us guarantees, because the visa issue has still not been resolved.”
Taj added that Iranian officials had not received confirmation from US authorities on approved applications.
“We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet,” he said.
The federation chief disclosed that players were expected to travel to Turkey for fingerprinting as part of the visa process.
According to him, efforts were ongoing to simplify the procedure.
Taj said: “The players must travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but we are trying to arrange for this to be done in Antalya so there will be no need to travel to Ankara.”
Iran’s concerns come amid continued tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since February 28, although a ceasefire has reportedly been in place since April 8.
Both countries have also lacked formal diplomatic relations since 1980 following the hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran after the Islamic Revolution.
Iran held a send-off ceremony for the national team on Wednesday ahead of the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Team Melli will camp in Tucson, Arizona during the competition.
Iran are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before facing Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
