Iran says it will boycott next weeks World Cup finals draw in Washington after the United States refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation, the Iranian football federation announced on Friday, November 28. The federations spokesperson told state television that they had informed FIFA the situation has nothing to do with sports, adding that the entire delegation would therefore not attend the draw. The decision follows reports from Iranian sports outlet Varzesh 3, which said the US declined visa requests for multiple officials, including federation president Mehdi Taj. On Thursday, Taj condemned Washingtons action as purely political, saying Iran had told FIFA president Gianni Infantino that the US must be urged to desist from this behaviour. According to the report, only four delegation members, including national team coach Amir Ghalenoei were issued visas for the December 5 event. Iran sealed qualification for the World Cup in March, marking their fourth consecutive appearance and seventh overall. While they have never advanced past the group stage, their 21 victory over the United States at the 1998 tournament in France remains one of the most memorable moments in their football history. The US defeated Iran 10 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Tensions between Tehran and Washington, adversaries for over four decades, form the backdrop to this latest diplomatic spat. Although both sides had resumed high-level nuclear talks in April, negotiations stalled after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in mid-June. The escalation triggered a 12-day conflict that briefly drew the US into direct strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, further straining relations ahead of the upcoming tournament.
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