Iran heads to Mexico via Spain to participate in the World Cup

The Iranian Football Federation has confirmed that the first team will leave Turkey for Spain next Saturday, before heading to its residence in Mexico in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, although it is still waiting for visas.

Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, told  Iran  state television: "We will leave for Spain on Saturday, and from there the team will go directly to Tijuana in Mexico."

"We will get a visa to Mexico tomorrow (Tuesday) or the day after tomorrow, and then a US visa will be issued quickly."

The president of the Iranian Federation stressed that the outbreak of war, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, changed everything for the team, saying: "The situation in the country, especially the war, turned all our plans upside down," and continued: "We arranged good preparatory matches, including a match against Spain in February, which was canceled."

The United States, where Iran will play its three group stage matches, nor Mexico, where the team will stay throughout the tournament, have not yet issued visas to players.

Training Camp in Antalya, Turkey

The Iranian national team is currently continuing its preparations for the World Cup in the Turkish city of Antalya, where they beat Gambia 3-1 in a friendly match on Friday, and then will play another friendly match against Mali on Thursday.

Iran are in Group G of the World Cup, where they will play against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Basdendeh, said on Sunday, "The national team will have a better stay in Tijuana than in American cities, and the security stereotype in Tijuana does not reflect reality."

"The people of Tijuana are very friendly and hospitable, and they don't have any problems with the Iranians, they have a lot of respect for them," he said.

Rubio: Ban on any member of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran's delegation

 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate on Tuesday that the United States would not allow Iranians linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to join their country's delegation to participate in this month's soccer World Cup.

Despite the war launched by the United States and Israel on Iran in late February, Rubio said Washington "does not object" to the Iranian soccer team and its support team entering the country.

"What we're not going to allow is that they have a group of people that we know have nothing to do with sports and have ties to the IRGC or things like that, so we're going to be watching that very closely," Rubio said.