Iran soccer team departs for Mexico ahead of World Cup

World Iran soccer team departs for Mexico ahead of World Cup as some team officials denied U.S. visas, Iranian officials say June 6, 2026 / 5:11 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google Iran's World Cup soccer team set off from Turkey for their training base in Mexico on Saturday, with some members of their entourage reportedly still without U.S. visas, before three group matches in the U.S. later this month.The Iranian Football Federation's secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.It was unclear whether the federation's president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa. Members of the Iranian national soccer team go through a security checkpoint as they arrive at Antalya Airport in Turkey for their departure to Mexico ahead of the World Cup. June 6, 2026. ONER SAN /AFP via Getty Images The team's participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.The federation accused the U.S. of "vindictive behavior" in refusing visas for "key managerial and administrative members" of the team.The decision had "effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination," according to a statement on the federation's website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team's visas. "You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States' host obligations merely by praising yourselves," the Iranian post r...