The Iranian Football Federation on Friday announced that Tehran will boycott next week’s 2026 FIFA World Cup finals draw in Washington after the United States refused to issue visas to several members of Iran’s delegation.
According to AFP, the federation’s spokesperson told state television that Iran has already informed FIFA that the visa decision is unrelated to sports, and as a result, Iranian officials will not take part in the World Cup draw.
Earlier, Iranian sports website Varzesh 3 reported that the US denied visas to multiple delegates, including federation president Mehdi Taj.
Taj condemned the move as political, stating that Iran has notified the FIFA chief that the decision is entirely politically motivated and that FIFA should prevent such actions by the US authorities.
The Iranian site added that four members of the delegation — including coach Amir Ghalenoei — have received visas ahead of the December 5 draw event.
Iran successfully qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in March, marking their fourth consecutive and seventh overall appearance in the tournament. Although Iran has never reached the knockout stage, the country celebrated a historic victory in 1998 when Iran defeated the US 2–1 in France. The US later reversed the result in 2022, winning 1–0 against Iran.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Meanwhile, US–Iran tensions have persisted for more than four decades. High-level nuclear talks between the countries began earlier this year in April but stalled in mid-June following Israeli airstrikes against Iranian positions, which triggered a 12-day conflict.
The US subsequently became briefly involved with targeted strikes on Iran’s key nuclear facilities
