Iran coach arrives in Washington for World Cup draw after visa dispute
Iran’s national team coach Ardeshir Amir Ghalenoei has arrived in Washington with part of the country’s football delegation ahead of Friday’s World Cup draw, FIFA said.
Iran’s national team coach Ardeshir Amir Ghalenoei has arrived in Washington with part of the country’s football delegation ahead of Friday’s World Cup draw, FIFA said.
In a response to Iran International, FIFA said it “welcomed the arrival of the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation delegation to Washington, DC, including head coach Ardeshir Ghalenoei,” adding that it would continue working with Iran and US authorities to prepare for next summer’s 2026 World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran had initially threatened to boycott the ceremony over visa difficulties.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation applied for nine visas, but a federation spokesman said the United States granted four, including one for Ghalenoei. Federation president Mehdi Taj was among those denied entry.
Iran qualified earlier this year through the Asian tournament and will learn their group-stage opponents at the draw later on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The team has now reached its seventh World Cup and its fourth in a row. Their arrival in the US comes against the backdrop of longstanding entry restrictions that continue to shape travel rules for Iranian nationals.
White House: team allowed, fans likely not
The White House on Wednesday said Iran’s national team will be permitted to enter the United States for the World Cup, but suggested Iranian fans will remain barred under existing travel restrictions.
“The President has, in his executive order, certainly named Iran as one of the countries whose teams will be exempt to come here,” said Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House task force on the World Cup.
Pressed on whether US immigration authorities might conduct raids at matches, Giuliani added that “the President does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer.”
US travel rules in the spotlight
The US has kept tight visa controls on Iranians for decades, and in June President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring entry for citizens of 12 countries, including Iran, citing security concerns. The measure is meant to exempt athletes and coaching staff attending the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, though the visa process has remained restrictive.
The administration has also announced a separate review of green cards issued to immigrants from 19 countries, including Iran.
The review followed an incident in Washington DC in which an Afghan national — who had arrived under a special immigration program after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan — shot two National Guard troops, killing one and leaving the other gravely injured.
“Still, I prefer to leave my artistic work for a day when the Islamic Republic no longer exists in my country,” she said.
Embarking on a farewell tour, she framed her decision within the wider social shifts unfolding in Iran, particularly the growing rejection of the compulsory hijab and the generational frustration she believes now defines the country.
“We are seeing our youth, especially women, fighting for their most basic rights,” she said, describing a society confronting economic strain, political repression and demands for ordinary freedoms.
Defiance of compulsory veiling is now widespread in Iran as women and girls appear in public without headscarves in one of the most visible social shifts since Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022.
The pressures facing a new generation, Googoosh said, have accelerated her own sense of responsibility as an artist.
“People in my country are struggling to give their families an ordinary life. They struggle for clean water, clean air, and land where they can live. Our young people grew old without ever enjoying their youth. Our people must end this painful cycle and gain the freedoms every human being deserves.”
Iran’s rulers have long relied on strict hijab enforcement by police and Basij forces. The current situation comes amid persistent power cuts, water shortages and a weakened economy, all of which risk fueling further anger.
A life shaped by stardom and silence
Born Faegheh Atashin, she entered the spotlight as a child performer and quickly became one of pre-revolution Iran’s most recognizable cultural figures. Her look, voice and stage presence shaped an entire era of Iranian pop culture.
After the 1979 revolution, she remained in Iran and spent two decades barred from performing under the new theocracy, facing surveillance, harassment and a period of imprisonment. When authorities finally allowed her to leave in 2000, she resumed her career abroad, launching a revival that connected her with Iranians who had long been cut off from her music.
“After the revolution, the pressure on me grew,” Googoosh said. “Since Farsi is my mother tongue and I grew up in Iran, I could not adjust to living outside my country. I did not want that life. I hoped I could somehow continue performing for my own people, inside my own country.”
