By Emily Green
MEXICO CITY, June 5 (Reuters) - Iran's ambassador to Mexico said his nation's soccer squad still had not received their U.S. visas just 10 days before their first World Cup match in Los Angeles, raising the possibility that the team won't be able to compete in the tournament amid a continuing conflict between the two countries.
“We will keep trying until the final moment to enter (the U.S.) and play,” Abolfazl Pasandideh said, speaking through a Spanish interpreter at the Iranian embassy
in Mexico City.
Pasandideh described a frenetic few weeks navigating a nine‑hour time difference with Tehran while negotiating a last minute move of the team's base from Arizona to Tijuana 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.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early Sunday morning.
“Sport and the World Cup were created to bring nations closer together. But we are not witnessing that right now,” Pasandideh said.
The U.S. has never formally said it did not want the Iran team to stay on its territory, the ambassador said.
“But through its actions, it has shown that Iranians have no place there,” he added, praising Mexican officials for welcoming the team and fast‑tracking their visas.
The White House and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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.
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.
Iran’s desire to compete in the tournament underscores its efforts to reach a resolution in the war with Washington, Pasandideh said.
“Iran’s participation in the World Cup — even on the soil of what is seen as its enemy — shows that Iran seeks peace,” he said.
SLOW PROGRESS IN PEACE TALKS
Progress in peace talks between Iran and the U.S. has been slow, with both sides seemingly inching toward an interim agreement even as they continue to carry out military strikes.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was quoted on state TV on Wednesday saying that no “tangible progress” has been made in negotiations to end the war, which is entering into its fourth month.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the U.S. would not allow Iran to include in its World Cup delegation individuals linked to the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces.
That could apply to several players in the Iran squad who have completed mandatory military service with the group.
The team are scheduled to play their first Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium before taking on Egypt in Seattle.
The squad plan to fly to the U.S. on a private plane on match days and return to Tijuana the same day, the ambassador said. If that proves unfeasible, they will travel by bus.
The drive between Tijuana and Los Angeles takes around 2-1/2 hours, but can easily stretch into four or more hours depending on traffic and lines at the border.
It is unclear how the team would manage to travel by bus to Seattle, a drive of at least 20 hours, if they were not able to fly.
The uncertainty over visas has left the Iran team at a competitive disadvantage and in physiological limbo because of the logistical challenges, Pasandideh said.
Still, he insisted that Iran and the U.S. could establish friendly relations once the war is over.
“We do our best to convince the people of the United States that we have no problem with them and only have problems with (U.S. President) Donald Trump’s policies,” he said.
(Reporting by Emily Green; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Ken Ferris)
