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Iran’s national football team is still being held to entry restrictions inside the US two days after Washington and Tehran signed a framework deal aimed at ending their war, causing further ire and threatening to put a stain on this summer’s World Cup.
The 14-point deal, separately signed by US President Donald Trump in Versailles and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on Wednesday, makes no mention of eased conditions for Iranian nationals, including footballers, moving through US immigration.
Iran’s football federation said on Thursday it would file a formal complaint with FIFA, arguing that US-imposed travel restrictions are stopping the team from preparing properly for the tournament.
The complaint follows confirmation from US officials that Iranian players will only be allowed into the country one day before each match and must leave immediately afterwards — rules that remain unchanged despite this week’s diplomatic breakthrough.
The Iranian federation FFIRI said in a statement it would pursue the complaint through FIFA’s legal channels, calling the restrictions “inconsistent with the principle of equal conditions for all participating teams.”
The statement came days after head coach Amir Ghalenoei called his side “the most oppressed team in the history of international competitions” following Iran’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand in their opening match.
Iran’s coaching staff had planned to arrive two days before each match and leave the day after, to give players time to recover and adjust.
Instead, for the New Zealand game, the squad arrived in Los Angeles just one day before kick-off and had to leave straight after the final whistle.
Forward Mehdi Taremi said the players were told on the day of the match that they would have to leave US territory once the game ended.
White House dismisses complaints
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House task force overseeing the tournament, dismissed the federation’s complaint, saying the rules had been set out from the start. “From the beginning, we stated clearly that this procedure would apply,” he said.
“The team will be allowed to enter the United States one day before the match and will be required to leave after the game. This applies to Los Angeles and Seattle,” Giuliani added.
Iran had asked to arrive in Los Angeles earlier before its next match against Belgium, scheduled for Sunday at 9 pm CET, but the request was denied.
The travel restrictions add to an already strained relationship between the federation and US authorities.
Washington has also refused visas for around 15 members of Iran’s backroom staff, including federation president Mehdi Taj, who has been unable to accompany the team.
What can FIFA do?
Iran is playing in the tournament hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada against the backdrop of the recent war and the fragile ceasefire that followed, which forced the team to be based in Tijuana instead of across the border in the US, where all three of its group-round matches are to be held.
A framework deal that paves the way to long-term peace was signed on Wednesday and will be followed by another 60 days of talks, with tensions between the US and Iran still high.
FIFA had not responded to the complaint at the time of publication.
FIFA has limited authority to intervene in such disputes. The organisation has stated that immigration enforcement “remains outside its jurisdiction,” even though its host city agreements require governments to guarantee a “nondiscriminatory visa environment” for players and officials as a condition of hosting matches.
FIFA has previously stripped a host of a tournament over visa-related access issues — it removed Indonesia as host of the 2023 Under-20 World Cup after the government blocked Israel’s participation — but it has not signalled any willingness to take similar action against the US.
The Trump administration’s own travel-ban proclamations exempt athletes and team staff travelling for the World Cup from entry suspensions, although the timing and conditions of that entry remain at the discretion of US border officials.