Iran World Cup Squad Applies for US Visas at Ankara Embassy — First Concrete Step After Zurich Summit; No Approvals Yet

In a critical breakthrough in the Iran visa standoff, Iranian World Cup squad players physically traveled to the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey on May 21 to submit their visa applications — the first concrete on-the-ground step taken following the FIFA-Infantino-Taj Zurich summit the previous day. Players confirmed as submitting applications include Omid Noorafkhan, Seyed Hossein Hossein, Ehsan Hajsafi, and Aria Yousefi. The full squad also attended appointments for Canadian visas in parallel. Some players had not previously submitted US visa applications — their earlier attempts had been interrupted when US-Israeli military strikes against Iran began in February, creating a gap in the process; those players were applying for the first time. As of May 21, not a single US visa had been formally approved for any Iranian player or coaching staff member. The June 1 squad submission deadline is 11 days away. If US visas are not granted in time, Iran faces an unprecedented withdrawal from a World Cup with the tournament only 21 days from kickoff. Iran's Group G schedule on US soil: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles (June 15 vs New Zealand; June 21 vs Belgium) and Lumen Field, Seattle (June 26 vs Egypt). Tournament base camp: Kino Sports Complex, Tucson, Arizona. Warm-up friendly: vs The Gambia in Antalya, May 29.