{"id":113420,"date":"2026-05-14T11:12:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/113420\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T11:12:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T11:12:33","slug":"iran-rallies-thousands-in-world-cup-send-off-amid-us-entry-cloud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/113420\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran rallies thousands in World Cup send-off amid US entry cloud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran held a World Cup send-off rally Wednesday night at Tehran\u2019s Enqelab Square, drawing thousands of fans despite lingering uncertainty over the team\u2019s ability to enter the United States and compete in the tournament.<\/p>\n

The squad, which will continue preparations at a training camp in T\u00fcrkiye next week, was greeted with loud support as players delivered patriotic remarks from a stage. The kit they will wear at the June 11 to July 19 tournament also was unveiled during the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best send-off in the last four World Cup campaigns,\u201d Iranian FA (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj told state television.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe players are with the people, and the crowd stands with the country\u2019s dignity, honor and strength. Whatever the result, may Iran\u2019s flag be raised there and defended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the United States and Israel began a regional war by launching airstrikes on the Islamic Republic in late February.<\/p>\n

Taj was refused entry to co-host Canada for the FIFA Congress two weeks ago because of his connection to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), triggering fears there could be issues for members of the Iran delegation entering the United States.<\/p>\n

As in Canada, the IRGC is classified as a terrorist entity in the United States, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said no one with ties to the organization would be admitted to the country.<\/p>\n

Iran has placed responsibility for getting players and team officials into the United States, where Team Melli are scheduled to play all three World Cup group matches, firmly in the hands of FIFA.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing has arrived yet regarding the visas. We hope it will be handled within this timeframe,\u201d Hedayat Mombeini, the FFIRI secretary general, told state television at the rally Wednesday.<\/p>\n


\n \"Iran's
\n <\/a>
\n Iran’s national team stands on a podium as people cheer during a farewell ceremony, Tehran, Iran, May 13, 2026. (EPA Photo) <\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA has made promises, and hopefully those promises will lead to results and the players will receive their visas on time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reports that some Iraq players had been refused U.S. visas, which were quickly refuted by the White House and the Iraq Football Association on Wednesday, further fueled Iranian concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just heard that news as well,\u201d Mombeini said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope FIFA steps in. We have always believed sport should be separate from politics. In my view, FIFA has a duty to step in and ensure entry for all members of World Cup teams is facilitated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran will play Gambia in a World Cup warmup in Antalya on May 29, and Mombeini said the FFIRI was in the process of arranging another friendly for the training camp in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

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\n This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran held a World Cup send-off rally Wednesday night at Tehran\u2019s Enqelab Square, drawing thousands of fans despite…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6115,2982,2714,34,424,39277,73],"class_list":{"0":"post-113420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-2026-fifa-world-cup","9":"tag-fifa","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-irgc","13":"tag-mehdi-taj","14":"tag-us-israel-war-on-iran"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116572634878013033","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}