Iran's World Cup team departs for Mexico amid visa dispute with U.S.

The Iranian national football team has begun its journey to Mexico, where it will establish its base camp for the upcoming World Cup. The team's departure follows a 15-day training camp in Antalya, Turkey. The tournament is co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with the opening match scheduled for June 11.

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Why don't you say that visas have been denied to a large part of the management and coaching staff, technical advisors, and other people who are an integral part of the national team?

However, Iran has strongly denounced what it terms "discriminatory treatment" by the United States. The Iranian embassy in Turkey expressed outrage over the U.S. refusal to issue visas to a significant portion of the team's management and support staff. They described these denials as the "highest level of intentional discriminatory treatment."

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The necessary visas for Iran's participation in the World Cup, including those for indispensable athletes and essential staff, have been issued.

This Iranian accusation directly contradicts statements from U.S. officials. An American official stated that the necessary visas for Iran's participation, including those for indispensable athletes and staff, have been issued. The official, speaking anonymously, added that the U.S. would not allow the Iranian team to exploit the system to smuggle terrorists into the country under false pretenses, without providing further details.

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We will not let the Iranian team abuse this system to smuggle terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.

According to Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, 15 members of the administrative and coaching staff were affected. Iranian media reports suggest this group includes the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj. The spokesperson for the Iranian Football Federation questioned who would attend pre-match coordination meetings if the manager and press attaché were absent, indicating that a letter had been sent to FIFA regarding the issue. Additionally, the Iranian ambassador to Mexico stated that the team would be required to enter and exit the U.S. on the same day as their matches.

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If the manager and press attaché of the team are not present, who is supposed to attend the pre-match coordination meeting?