‘We have no problem’, Mexico agrees to host Iran during World Cup

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has agreed to allow Iran to be based in the country during the World Cup, claiming the United States were unwilling to host them.

Sheinbaum said her government had been approached by FIFA after the US made it clear it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country during the tournament.

“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum 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. We have no problem.”

Iran were originally given Tucson, Arizona, as their World Cup base with all three of their matches scheduled to take place in the US.

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However, the ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns have led to uncertainty around their participation.

The World Cup is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with Iran scheduled to play New Zealand on 15 June and Belgium on 21 June – both in Los Angeles – and Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.

Iran are currently preparing for the tournament in Antalya, southern Turkey.

The BBC has contacted the White House and FIFA for comment.

Iran’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, also confirmed that the world football governing body has stressed that the Iran squad will be given visas to play in the US this summer

“The FIFA president promised us that all our players would receive visas. There is no reason why our players should not receive visas,” he said.

The Iranian FA (FFIRI) had presented FIFA with a list of 10 conditions for their participation at the World Cup, including allowing players, coaches and officials who have completed military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to receive visas.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Iranian players will be welcome at the tournament, but individuals with links to the IRGC could face entry restrictions.

Taj was one of a number of FFIRI officials turned away at the Canadian border ahead of April’s Fifa annual congress in Vancouver, with Canada’s immigration minister telling parliament that his visa was cancelled because of links to the IRGC.

Some members of the squad went to the US embassy in Ankara on Thursday to submit visa applications for the tournament.