Iran’s national soccer team will compete in the 2026 World Cup under heightened travel restrictions imposed by the United States.
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Iran’s national team, known as Team Melli, is scheduled to play all three of its World Cup matches in the United States, beginning June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The team had originally planned to establish its training base in Tucson, Arizona. However, FIFA approved a request to relocate the team’s base camp to Tijuana, Mexico, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year and growing security concerns surrounding the tournament.
The arrangement means Iran will remain based in Mexico while traveling into the United States for matches.
President Donald Trump addressed the issue in March, saying Iran would be permitted to participate in the tournament but expressing concern about the team’s safety while in the United States.
Although Iran was welcome to compete, Trump said he did not believe it was “appropriate” for the team to travel to the United States “for their own life and safety.”
The team’s participation has also drawn scrutiny because of concerns about members of Iran’s delegation.
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Officials have said some individuals associated with the delegation have ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration supports the participation of Iranian athletes while drawing a distinction between players and individuals with potential security concerns.
“We have no problems with the athletes, as we stated earlier, or the support staff,” Rubio told a House Appropriations subcommittee.
“What [Iran] can’t bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they’re journalists and athletic trainers.”
— @SecRubio (in April)pic.twitter.com/xghqfvjR2Z https://t.co/By6BPLbH3Z
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 9, 2026
“But what we’re not going to allow them is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature,” he added.
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