Iran win four staff visa appeals but 11 banned
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- Four Iranian delegation members won visa appeals for US entry after initially being denied; successful applicants include a team technical analyst and two officials from the federation's international department
- Eleven members of Iran's delegation remain banned from the US, including FFIRI president Mehdi Taj, a vice-president, two team administrators, a media officer, and a security officer, with one media officer declining to reapply
- Iran relocated their World Cup base to Mexico over concerns about being at war with the US, and 10 of the 15 initially denied members resubmitted visa applications from there, with 6 of those rejected again
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iranian players would be welcome at the tournament but individuals with links to the IRGC could face entry restrictions, the central sticking point in the dispute
- US officials revoked Iran's group-stage ticket allocation for supporters, though Fifa said it is working to 'maximise opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches'
- Iran was not represented at Fifa's annual congress in Vancouver in April after officials were turned away at the Canadian border due to IRGC links, foreshadowing the current delegation split
- Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter criticized the body, saying a World Cup host must guarantee 'the unrestricted entry of all qualified teams, officials and referees,' after Somali referee Omar Artan was also denied US entry
Why it matters: With 11 of its 15 initially denied delegation members still barred — including FFIRI president Mehdi Taj and key operational staff — Iran faces the prospect of a skeleton backroom for a tournament partially hosted in a country whose visa policy has become a political flashpoint. The IRGC-link question is the tripwire: the US is conditioning entry on security screening, while Iran's federation has demanded that anyone who completed IRGC military service be allowed through. The partial appeal win suggests the policy is being applied case by case rather than as a blanket ban.
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