Irans World Cup soccer team leaves for Mexico even as some members still need US visas

ANTALYA, Turkey — Iran’s World Cup soccer team set off from Turkey for their training base in Mexico on Saturday, with some members of their entourage reportedly still without U.S.visas, before three group matches in the United States later this month.The Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials without U.S.

visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war.Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.The federation accused the U.S.

of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation’s website.It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S.

Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read.“This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”One U.S.

official earlier told The Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff.A third official suggested ...