Iran to boycott FIFA 2026 World Cup draw in US over visa dispute

Iran will not play in the World Cup finals in Washington on Friday because the US refused to grant visas to several delegation members, according to the Iranian football federation.

The Iranian delegation’s representatives informed FIFA that the decisions made were unrelated to sports, and that they would not play in the World Cup draw, according to the federation’s spokesperson.

Iranian sports website Varzesh 3 claimed on Tuesday that the US had declined to issue visas to a number of delegation members, including Mehdi Taj, the federation’s president.

Taj had earlier claimed that the decision was political on Thursday.

“We have informed FIFA’s head, Mr. Gianni Infantino, that this is purely political position and that FIFA must inform them [US] to stop this behavior,” Taj continued.

According to Varzesh 3, four members of the delegation, including coach Amir Ghalenoei, received visas for the draw on December 5.

Iran qualified for the quadrennial showpiece of the sport in March, ensuring their seventh-straight appearance in a row.

Although they have yet to reach the knockout stages, Iran’s 2-1 victory over the USA in their group match in the 1998 finals in France was unquestionable joy.

By beating Iran 1-0 in the 2022 edition, the US made amends for that.

Iran and the US have been at odds with each other for more than 40 years, holding a co-hostship of the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

Tehran and Washington had been engaged in high-level nuclear discussions that had started in April, when Tehran and Washington were at odds over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, which Tehran defends as “inalienable.”