Iran will make history on Monday by becoming the first country to play a World Cup match on the soil of a host nation with which it is at war, as the team faces New Zealand in Los Angeles. The fixture takes place amid ongoing hostilities between Iran and the United States, which have intensified in recent days despite a fragile ceasefire.
Analysts say the political backdrop undermines Fifa's 'football unites the world' slogan. 'There's never been a World Cup where one of the hosts is openly threatening war crimes against one of the participating nations,' said Jules Boykoff, a politics professor at Pacific University in Oregon.
The squad's participation was in doubt after Donald Trump suggested it would be safer for them to stay away. Visas were granted only this week, though several officials, including the president of Iran's football federation, Mehdi Taj, were denied entry due to his former membership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Uncertainty has disrupted preparations. The team trained in Turkey and then Tijuana, Mexico, and will travel to Los Angeles on match days only, returning to Mexico immediately after each game to avoid overnight stays in the US. The pattern will repeat for matches against Belgium and Egypt.
An ideological tug-of-war over who the team represents has added tension. An official World Cup video posted by the regime depicts players to a religious eulogy honouring Shia imams, drawing criticism from opponents. Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed shah, posted a video highlighting the regime's persecution of footballers, saying many Iranians no longer see the national team as representing the nation.
