Iran Squad Departs for Antalya Training Camp — No US Visas Issued With Zurich Summit Two Days Away

Iran's national football team departed Tehran for a training base in Antalya, Turkey on May 18 — 24 days before their June 11 World Cup opener — with not a single US entry visa issued to any Iranian player or coaching staff member. The squad will train at the Turkish camp and play a warm-up friendly against The Gambia on May 29 before traveling to the United States. Iran's federation chief confirmed on departure that no visas had been received. The diplomatic situation remains unresolved heading into the FIFA-Infantino-Taj summit in Zurich scheduled for May 20 — now just two days away and the last formal diplomatic channel before the June 1 final squad submission deadline. Iran's Group G schedule remains at US venues: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles (June 15 vs New Zealand; June 21 vs Belgium) and Lumen Field, Seattle (June 26 vs Egypt). The team's tournament base camp is in Tucson, Arizona. FIFA Secretary General Grafstrom and Iranian FA president Taj met in Istanbul on May 17 for 'excellent and constructive' pre-Zurich talks; both sides said FIFA 'offered solutions' to Iran's 10 raised points — but explicit US visa guarantees were not confirmed.