Iran vows to boycott US World Cup draw over rejected visas
Iran's football authorities said on Tuesday they would boycott a draw for the US-hosted 2026 World Cup in Washington DC next week after visas for two top officials were rejected.
Iran's football authorities said on Tuesday they would boycott a draw for the US-hosted 2026 World Cup in Washington DC next week after visas for two top officials were rejected.
Visa requests sent to the US Embassy in Dubai for Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and national team executive director Mehdi Kharati were rejected in October, state media reported.
Tehran-based sports outlet Varzesh 3 reported on Tuesday that at least four other officials who had submitted their petition in the same group request had had their visas approved, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei.
But Iran Football Federation spokesperson Amir Mahdi Alavi said that the country would shun the ceremony if its whole delegation was not cleared to attend.
FIFA and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Iran International requests for comment.
The draw for the 2026 World Cup is scheduled for December 5.
Iran's Tasnim news agency had reported in October that Taj, Ghalenoei and seven other officials were denied US visas to attend the ceremony. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his ministry was following up on the matter.
Varzesh 3 added that Taj, who serves on FIFA’s Executive Committee, is likely to obtain a visa through FIFA via a separate channel.
US President Donald Trump has presented the World Cup as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to showcase what he has described as an American golden age under his leadership.
The Trump administration last Monday introduced a new expedited visa process for the millions of visitors expected to travel to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, while noting that even those with match tickets could still be refused entry.
The system, announced at the White House and designed to prioritize visa appointments for FIFA ticket-holders, will move applicants with confirmed seats to the front of the interview queue. Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that faster processing does not guarantee admission to the country.
Football fandom is endemic in Iran despite only lukewarm endorsement by the ruling Islamic theocracy and its team regularly qualifies for the World Cup.
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Abedini said he was released from custody on Monday night after several days in detention by US immigration authorities.
“I’m relieved to share that I was released from custody tonight. It was a deeply distressing experience, especially seeing those without the support I had,” he wrote on LinkedIn, thanking colleagues and academic associations for their help.
Abedini “was detained for standard questioning and was released," The New York Times reported on Tuesday citing Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
Joshua Landis, the director of Middle East studies at the university, said on X that Abedini was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while boarding a flight to Washington DC to attend the Middle East Studies Association conference and was taken to jail on November 22.
"He has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa —a non-immigrant work visa granted to individuals in 'specialty occupations,' including higher education faculty. We are praying for his swift release," Landis wrote.
According to the University of Oklahoma’s website, Abedini is an Iranian studies professor whose work focuses on elite politics, technology and foreign policy.
The University of Oklahoma declined to discuss the matter and ICE did not respond to an Iran International request for comment.
A search of the ICE detainee database shows a record for Vahid Abedini, listing his country of birth as Iran and his status as “in ICE custody.”
According to Iranian media, Abedini has long been active in Iran’s reformist political circles and was a member of student Islamic associations at Tehran University.
Abedini was a signatory to a statement issued by reformists during Iran’s 2024 election supporting Masoud Pezeshkian.
Abedini received his master’s and PhD in political science from Florida International University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor before joining the University of Arkansas as a visiting assistant professor.
Iranian scholar and former State Department adviser Vali Nasr described Abedini's arrest as "wrongful detention."
"He is a respected scholar and teacher, and according to his employer, the University of Oklahoma, his visa is valid. I and all his is friends, colleagues and students call for his immediate release and to his work at the university," Nasr said on X.
Grossi told reporters in Manila that the agency’s aim was to “restore continuity of knowledge” and reestablish full verification inside Iran. His comments followed last week’s decision by the UN watchdog’s 35-member Board of Governors calling on Tehran to inform it “without delay” about the status of its enriched uranium stock and sites hit in June strikes.
The board’s resolution, backed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, deepened tensions with Tehran, which condemned the vote as “illegal and unjustified.” Iran said the move nullified a September inspection accord reached in Cairo with Grossi through Egyptian mediation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the time the Western powers had “killed” the Cairo accord and accused them of seeking escalation rather than diplomacy. Iran insists its cooperation with the IAEA remains within the limits of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but says access to bombed facilities cannot resume until safety and legal issues are addressed.
Iran weighs NPT withdrawal
Iranian lawmakers have said Tehran is considering suspending or withdrawing from the NPT in response to the censure. Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the option was “on the table” and under expert review.
He said a final decision would be coordinated between parliament and the Supreme National Security Council. Another lawmaker said a draft bill had been prepared to boost what he called Iran’s “nuclear and sanctions-related deterrence.”
Heydari had led Iran’s Army Ground Forces for more than seven years before being replaced on November 22 by Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi, as part of a wider reshuffle across Iran’s military following the June war.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the unified combatant command under the Armed Forces General Staff, responsible for operational design and coordination across the army and the Revolutionary Guards.
The deputy post was previously held by Major General Hossein Hassani Sa'di, according to Iranian news agency ISNA, while Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi currently commands the headquarters.
