Iran players honour 168 airstrike victims as visa row forces World Cup base move to Mexico

Iran’s players made a pointed political statement upon landing at Tijuana International Airport on Sunday, wearing pin badges bearing the number 168 — the death toll from a US missile strike on a school in Minab on 28 February — as the squad began their World Cup preparations in Mexico rather than the United States.

The team had originally planned to base themselves in Arizona but were forced to relocate at short notice following an escalating row with US authorities over visas and entry conditions. After three weeks at a training camp in Turkey, Iran touched down in Tijuana, where Mexico has agreed to host them between their matches on American soil.

The Pentagon has not released details of the Minab strike, stating only that the incident remains under investigation. Iran’s players wearing the badges on arrival drew an immediate and visible line between the sporting event and the broader conflict between the two countries.

According to Iranian state television, 14 staff members have been denied US visas, including Football Federation secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini and vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi. Iran’s envoy Abolfazl Pasandideh confirmed the terms imposed on the delegation: “We can enter in the morning and we must leave the same day.”

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed her government’s position without ambiguity. “We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” she said. “The United States does not want the Iranian team to stay overnight, but they are going to play three matches there. So they asked us: ‘Can they stay overnight in Mexico?’ And we said: ‘Yes, no problem.’”

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara issued a formal rebuke after US ambassador Tom Barrack praised the US Embassy in Ankara for its handling of the team’s visa applications. “You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the statement read.

US President Donald Trump had previously suggested Iran’s players should consider their own safety before attending the tournament, though he later walked back those remarks. Tensions have not eased. Iran open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 16 June, before further Group stage fixtures against Belgium and Egypt on the US west coast.