By Mohamed Yossry
May 17 (Reuters) - Iran's attacking talisman Sardar Azmoun was a notable absence from coach Amir Ghalenoei's preliminary World Cup squad as the team gear up for the tournament in North America amid diplomatic tensions surrounding their participation.
Ghalenoei did not explain the reason for omitting Azmoun, who has scored 57 goals in 91 internationals, but Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that the former Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma striker was left out due to injury.
Azmoun,
who plays for Shabab Al-Ahli in the United Arab Emirates, was also omitted from the Iran squad in March, with local media reporting he had been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government.
Azmoun posted a picture on his Instagram feed in March of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Iran had launched rocket and drone attacks on the UAE, following air strikes by the United States and Israel, which killed the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The 30-man squad was announced on Saturday, before Iran head to Turkey next week to continue their tournament preparations.
Veterans Mehdi Taremi, who plays for Olympiacos, and former Brighton & Hove Albion winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh were included in the squad.
Iran's participation in the June 11 to July 19 tournament has been in question since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
Iran's Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj was refused entry to Canada for the FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The U.S. and Canada, which are co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico, classify the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" and have made it clear they will not admit people with links to the elite military force.
Iran requested that their matches be moved to Mexico, but FIFA President Gianni Infantino said all games would be played as originally scheduled.
Iran are scheduled to play all three of their group matches in the United States. They will take on New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles, and Egypt five days later in Seattle.
Iran Squad:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Mohammad Khalifeh, Payam Niazmand
Defenders: Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Omid Noorafkan, Ramin Rezaeian
Midfielders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Ghaedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi, Aria Yousefi
Forwards: Ali Alipour, Dennis Dargahi, Hadi Habibinejad, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Amirhossein Mahmoudi, Kasra Taheri, Mehdi Taremi
(Reporting by Mohamed Yossry in Cairo, editing by Toby Davis)
