Iran's World Cup squad has arrived in Mexico wearing pin badges bearing the number 168, in a defiant tribute to children reportedly killed in a US airstrike. The gesture comes amid a deepening diplomatic row over US visa restrictions that have forced Iran to relocate its pre-tournament base from Arizona to Mexico.
The Iranian team landed at Tijuana International Airport on Sunday after a three-week training camp in Turkey. Players displayed the number 168, representing the death toll from a missile strike on a school in Minab on February 28. The Pentagon has said the incident is under investigation but has not released further details.
Iran will play New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in the group stage, all on the US west coast. However, US authorities have imposed strict conditions: Iranian players and officials must enter and leave the US on the same day as matches, and 14 staff members, including federation secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini and vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, have been denied visas.
Iran's envoy Abolfazl Pasandideh confirmed the restrictions, stating: “We can enter in the morning and we must leave the same day.” Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has offered to host the Iranian team overnight, saying: “We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico.”
The Iranian Embassy in Ankara issued a furious statement criticising US ambassador Tom Barrack for praising the visa process. “You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the statement read, accusing the US of “deliberate and discriminatory treatment”.
US President Donald Trump had earlier questioned the appropriateness of Iran's participation, citing safety concerns, but later backtracked. The row continues to overshadow Iran's World Cup campaign as tensions between the two nations remain high.
