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Iran's national football team touched down in Antalya, Türkiye, on Monday for a weeks-long training camp that doubles as a visa processing stop, as the squad navigates one of the most politically fraught World Cup preparations in tournament history. The 22-player delegation, accompanied by coaching staff, flew into the Mediterranean resort city dressed in matching navy tracksuits, with no US entry visas yet secured and a war with their host country only technically on pause.
The team, known as Team Melli, is expected to remain in Antalya for several weeks before traveling to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. Because Iran and the United States severed diplomatic relations in 1980, the squad has no American embassy at home through which to process documents, making the Turkish stop a logistical necessity.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei confirmed on Saturday that completing the visa applications would be a primary purpose of the camp. Federation president Mehdi Taj told Iranian media as recently as Thursday that no visas had been issued.
The backdrop to the squad's departure is one of active, if temporarily suspended, conflict. The United States, alongside Israel, launched its first bombing campaign against Iran on February 28, drawing the two countries into open war.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 8, but fresh weekend drone attacks on Gulf nations and renewed threats from US President Donald Trump have sharpened concerns that hostilities could resume before the tournament begins.
Despite the war, FIFA has rejected Iranian requests to relocate their group-stage matches to co-hosts Mexico or Canada. Iran is placed in Group G and will play all three fixtures on US soil: a June 15 opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles, a second match against Belgium in the same city, and a final group game against Egypt in Seattle. The team's base camp will be in Tucson, Arizona.
Trump, asked about Iran's participation in late April, offered a blunt endorsement: "Let 'em play." Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more circumspect, suggesting concerns were not about the players themselves but "some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them," indicating possible scrutiny of delegation members with ties to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization.
Taj, who leads the football federation and is traveling with the squad, is a former member of the Guards. The same blacklist applies under Canadian law, and last month Iranian federation officials abandoned a planned trip to the FIFA congress in Canada, saying they had been "insulted" by immigration officers on arrival.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom met with Taj and the Iranian federation in Istanbul on Saturday, describing the talks as constructive.
Before departing, the team was feted at a send-off ceremony in Tehran's central Enghelab Square, where crowds of flag-waving supporters cheered the players, according to state television footage. The scene projected unity, but interviews with ordinary Iranians told a more complicated story.
Sepehr, a 19-year-old student from Tehran, said he and many of his peers did not see the squad as representative of the country's people. "This team is not, for many people, representative of the Iranian people," he said by phone to a journalist based in Paris.
"It's the team of the Islamic Republic, and in the minds of many, it will remain the most hated team ever." He added that the players had, in his view, "sold themselves and the people of Iran out for money, success and status."
Yasaman, a 32-year-old from the northern city of Rasht, described a more ambivalent feeling, saying she did not want the players "to get hurt" but that supporting them after a period of anti-government protests left her conflicted. She acknowledged that for some Iranians, even amid the war, watching their national team compete at a World Cup "would be a source of happiness."
Iran qualified for the tournament in March 2025, making this their fourth consecutive World Cup appearance, a run that has elevated them into the upper tier of Asian football.
The Antalya camp is expected to include at least one confirmed friendly, against the Gambia on May 29, with organizer Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who arranges matches for the federation, working to secure a second warmup fixture.
Ghalenoei described selecting the 30-player training squad from which the final roster will be drawn as "the most difficult technical decision" of his coaching career. Among the most recognizable names is Mehdi Taremi, the 33-year-old striker currently with Olympiacos who previously played for Porto.
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