June 5, 2026

Iran’s football squad, whose participation in the World Cup remains uncertain, have handed their passports to the US embassy in Turkey for visas, the head of their Football Federation said on Friday.

Mehdi Taj said Iran were following instructions from world football’s governing body.

Their quest for the visas comes as Iran and the United States remain locked in negotiations to end the Middle East war that began in February with a massive wave of strikes on the Islamic republic.

“Yesterday, I had discussions with FIFA regarding the US visas,” Taj said. “We were told to submit all passports to the US embassy in Ankara.”