Iran boycott World Cup draw as US denies visas to officials | OneFootball

Iran has decided not to participate in the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony, scheduled for December 5 in Washington, after the United States refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation, the Iranian federation announced.

The United States, which has not maintained diplomatic relations with Iran for more than four decades, along with Canada and Mexico, are the hosts of the 2026 World Cup. Most matches, including the final, will be played on American soil.

Iran qualified for the 2026 World Cup in March and is in pot 2 for the draw, as established by FIFA.

The Iranian sports website Varzesh 3 reported on Tuesday that the United States did not grant visas to some members of the Iranian delegation, including Mehdi Taj, president of the country’s football federation.

“We informed FIFA that the decisions made have nothing to do with sports and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” announced the spokesperson of the country’s football federation on state television.

According to Varzesh 3, four members of the delegation, including the national team coach, Amir Ghalenoei, received visas to travel to the United States.

On Thursday, the president of the federation denounced a “political” decision by the United States, according to the Mehr agency.

“We told the president of FIFA, Mr. (Gianni) Infantino, that this is a purely political stance and asked him to put a stop to this behavior,” he added.

Iran vs United States

Iran and the United States, adversaries for more than four decades, began negotiations in April under the mediation of the Sultanate of Oman regarding Iran’s controversial nuclear program.

But the talks have been stalled since Israel’s surprise attack on Iran on June 13, which triggered a 12-day conflict between the two countries, during which the United States attacked three major Iranian nuclear facilities.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.