Iran’s national football team arrived in Turkey on Monday for a training camp and to complete visa applications ahead of the 2026 World Cup, as political tensions continue to overshadow the team’s preparations for the tournament.
The 22-player squad and coaching staff landed in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, where members of the “Team Melli” delegation were seen leaving the airport in navy blue tracksuits. Iran is expected to remain in Turkey for several weeks before traveling to the United States, which is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.
The team is due to be based in Tucson, Arizona, before beginning its Group G campaign. Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21, and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Iran’s preparations come amid an unusually tense political backdrop. The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February, triggering a conflict that has since been paused by a ceasefire. But renewed drone attacks in the Gulf and fresh warnings from US President Donald Trump have raised fears that fighting could resume.
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, making Turkey an important logistical venue for the team’s US visa process. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei said the players would complete their visa applications during their stay in Turkey.
The team is also hoping to play friendly matches during the Antalya camp. One match against The Gambia is planned for May 29, while efforts are continuing to arrange another warm-up game before the squad travels to the United States.
Antalya has already become a politically symbolic site for Iran’s World Cup preparations. During an earlier friendly against Nigeria, Iranian players walked out for the pre-match ceremony carrying children’s school backpacks and later placed the bags in front of them during the team photo. Turkish media reported that the gesture was intended to draw attention to children killed in the conflict. The players were also seen wearing black armbands.
Iran qualified for the World Cup in March 2025, but its participation has become entangled in broader tensions with Washington and Ottawa. US officials have said the Iranian team will be allowed to take part in the tournament, with Trump saying in late April, “Let ’em play.” However, officials have also suggested that visa scrutiny may focus on some non-player members of the delegation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said concerns were not directed at Iranian players themselves but at “some of the other people” who may seek to travel with them, a reference to possible links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by both the United States and Canada.
Those concerns intensified after Iranian football federation officials abandoned a trip to the FIFA Congress in Canada, saying they had been “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers. Federation president Mehdi Taj, a former IRGC member, later said no visas had yet been issued.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom met Iranian federation officials in Turkey over the weekend and described the talks as constructive. Taj also said the meeting was positive, while Iranian officials continued to press FIFA over operational and visa-related issues ahead of the tournament.
For Iran, the Antalya camp is therefore more than a football preparation stop. It has become a training base, a visa-processing hub and a symbolic platform at a time when the team is preparing for a World Cup hosted partly by a country that has recently been at war with Iran.
