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Iran has announced it will boycott next week’s World Cup finals draw in Washington after the United States refused to grant visas to several members of its delegation, the Iranian Football Federation said on Friday, November 28.
The federation’s spokesperson told state television that officials had notified FIFA, stressing the situation “has nothing to do with sports,” and confirming that the entire delegation would 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 Washington’s action as politically motivated, revealing that Iran had urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to press the US to “desist from this behaviour.” According to the report, only four members of the delegation — including national team coach Amir Ghalenoei — were granted visas for the December 5 event.
Iran secured qualification for the World Cup in March, marking its fourth consecutive appearance and seventh overall. Although the team has never progressed beyond the group stage, its 2–1 win over the United States at the 1998 tournament in France remains a landmark moment in Iranian football history. The US later defeated Iran 1–0 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The boycott comes against the backdrop of long-standing tensions between Tehran and Washington, adversaries for more than four decades. While both sides resumed high-level nuclear talks in April, negotiations stalled after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in mid-June. The escalation sparked a 12-day conflict that briefly drew the US into direct strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, further straining relations ahead of the tournament.
