Iran Reverses Course on World Cup 2026 Draw, Heads to Washington

Iran's World Cup draw participation

Iran will take part in the 2026 World Cup draw Friday in Washington, signaling a clear reversal of its prior boycott after the United States denied visas to several delegation members.

A spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation said on Wednesday that Amir Ghalenoei, Iran's coach, would attend the draw as the team's technical representative, alongside one or two other people.

And the federation had announced last Friday that it informed FIFA it would not participate in the draw due to visa refusals for several delegation members.

Visa developments and reactions

Varzesh 3 later noted that the federation president Mehdi Taj was among those who did not receive a visa.

Taj said that they told FIFA president Gianni Infantino this was a political stance and that FIFA should urge the United States to stop this conduct.

According to Varzesh 3, visas were granted to four delegation members.

World Cup context

Iran had qualified for finals to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in March, and will make its seventh appearance at the global showpiece.

Iran, which has failed to reach the knockout stage in all its World Cup finals, had previously faced the United States at the 1998 World Cup in France, winning 2-1 in the group.

And the United States avenged by beating Iran 1-0 at the 2022 edition.

And Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations for four decades.

Punchline: If football diplomacy were a sniper, the headline would still miss — but the visa stamp would finally be in.

Punchline: The only thing faster than a counterattack might be a passport stamp, and this plot thickens.