Iran Slams US Over 'Discriminatory' Visa Denials for World Cup Squad Members

Iran has slammed the United States over what it called “discriminatory treatment” in not granting visas for some members of the Iranian World Cup squad. The United States has reportedly refused entry to the team manager, representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the security department and the team’s press officer. “Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial and executive staff, technical advisers, and others who are an integral part of any national football team?” the Iranian embassy in Turkey said in a post on X, referring to an earlier announcement by US envoy Tom Barrack that visas had been granted to players. “You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran’s national football team to its highest level,” the embassy added. On Friday, Barrack praised the US embassy in Ankara over its “work processing visas for Iran’s national football team” after the head of the Iranian football federation, Mehdi Taj, said on the same day the Iranian delegation submitted passports for visas. But reports on Saturday from the Iranian media, including sports media Varzesh3, said members of the delegation, including Taj, along with executive members and analysts, have not been granted visas.