Iran Visa Crisis: 11 Days to Kickoff — FIFA Guarantees Visas But None Issued; June 1 Squad Deadline Looms; 50 Nations Face $15K Bond

As of May 31, 2026 — 11 days before the tournament opener at Estadio Azteca — not a single member of Iran's World Cup delegation has been issued a US entry visa despite FIFA's written guarantees. Iran's squad trains at the Centro Xoloitzcuintle facility in Tijuana, Mexico and will commute daily across the US-Mexico border for Group G matches at SoFi Stadium (June 15 vs New Zealand, June 21 vs Belgium) and Lumen Field (June 26 vs Egypt). Iran's sports minister confirmed FIFA provided written assurances the visas would be issued, but no timeline has been given by the US State Department. The American Immigration Council published new analysis on May 31 noting that fans from four World Cup-qualified nations — Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Iran, and Senegal — face an absolute B-2 tourist visa ban, while an additional 50 countries face a $15,000 USD visa bond requirement to visit the US for the tournament — a figure that makes fan attendance economically impossible for most supporters. The FIFA final squad deadline for all 48 nations is June 1, 24 hours away, with official roster publication on June 2. Iran's expected 26-man squad features captain Mehdi Taremi (Inter Milan), goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and Saman Ghoddos. If US visas are not issued by Iran's first match on June 15, the team would be unable to cross the border legally from Tijuana — a default that would trigger an unprecedented FIFA forfeit process with no clear precedent in World Cup history. Algeria and Czech Republic are among the final nations expected to announce squads today.