Iran football players issued US visas for World Cup

Iran’s World Cup football players have been granted visas to enter the United States, according to a White House official.

The White House official said on Friday, 10 days before Iran plays in Los Angeles, that the players had received ​their visas.

The U.S. had not yet issued visas to some members of the Iran team’s technical and administrative staff, the Fars news agency ‌reported.

Staff members without visas would travel to Mexico with the team while efforts to obtain ​visas continue, the agency said.

Tehran negotiated a last-minute move of the team’s base from Arizona ⁠to Tijuana in Mexico due to the visa issues and a growing feeling in Iran ⁠that the squad’s presence in the U.S. should be kept to a minimum. They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early on Sunday.

The U.S., Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the biggest global sporting event, which starts on Wednesday. Iran are due to play their first Group G match on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where they will also face Belgium before taking on ⁠Egypt in Seattle.