Mexico has agreed to let Iran be based in the country during the World Cup after the United States said it did not want the team to stay overnight on American soil, President Claudia Sheinbaum said this week.
Sheinbaum said Fifa had approached her government after the US made clear it was unwilling to host Iran's squad during the tournament. "We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico," she said. "The United States does not want the Iranian team to stay overnight, but they are going to play three matches there." She added: "So they asked us: 'Can they stay overnight in Mexico?' And we said: 'Yes, no problem. We have no problem."
The decision gives Iran a nearby base even though all three of its World Cup matches are scheduled in the United States. Iran were originally assigned Tucson, Arizona, as their base, but their preparations have been taking place in Antalya, southern Turkey, as they try to sort out travel and security arrangements for the tournament. Iran are due to face New Zealand on 15 June in Los Angeles, Belgium on 21 June in Los Angeles and Egypt on 26 June in Seattle.
The issue has become one of the more sensitive off-field questions around iran at the fifa world cup because of the wider tensions surrounding Iran's participation. The World Cup is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, but the ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns have left the team navigating an uncertain path to the tournament.
Iran's sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, said Fifa had stressed that the squad would be given visas to play in the US this summer. "The Fifa president promised us that all our players would receive visas. There is no reason why our players should not receive visas," he said. The Iranian Football Federation also presented Fifa with a list of 10 conditions for participation, including a request that players, coaches and officials who have completed military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps receive visas.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Iran players will be welcome at the tournament, but that individuals with links to the IRGC could face entry restrictions. The travel uncertainty is not theoretical: Taj was turned away at the Canadian border ahead of Fifa's annual congress in Vancouver in April, and some members of the Iran squad went to the US embassy in Ankara on Thursday to submit visa applications for the tournament.
For Iran, the next question is not where the team will sleep, but whether every player and official needed for the trip can actually enter the country hosting the matches.
