Iran's World Cup ticket allocation has been cancelled, and 13 delegation members remain without visas, forcing the team to base itself in Mexico. Meanwhile, a Somali referee was turned away, an Iraqi striker was held for seven hours in Chicago,

Iran's sports minister has warned that the national team would abandon World Cup matches in the case of protests in the stadium by the Persian diaspora against the country's Islamic leadership. The Varzesh3 sports portal quoted minister Ahmad Donyamali as saying that "we have already informed [governing body] FIFA that those responsible for the team would abandon the match as soon as we hear political slogans in the stadiums.

Follow Iran's FIFA World Cup 2026 soccer news, fixtures, results, squad and group standings from Reuters, covering their path through the tournament.

Iranians say it's difficult to get excited about a soccer tournament in a year that has seen so much suffering, especially when it's being hosted by a country they are at war with

Iran’s World Cup campaign has become easily the most politically charged story of the tournament before their opening game has even arrived. The players have been cleared to enter the United States, but that has not ended the tension around their participation.