June 5 (Reuters) - Iran's World Cup soccer players have been granted visas to enter the United States, a White House official told Reuters on Friday, just 10 days before their first match in Los Angeles amid a conflict between the two countries.
Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday that the squad had still not received their U.S. visas but these were granted overnight, the White House official said.
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.
They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early Sunday morning.
Iran are due 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 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.
The U.S. has never formally said it did not want the Iran team to stay on its territory, ambassador Pasandideh said.
However, 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.
(Reporting by Emily Green; Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
