Iran football team attends Canada, US visa appointments for World Cup
Iran players and staff are seen outside the US embassy in Ankara for VISA procedures ahead of the World Cup on May 21, 2026.
Iran’s national soccer team attended visa appointments in Ankara on Thursday ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with the squad applying for Canadian visas and some players also seeking US entry, Reuters reported, citing an Iranian football federation official.
The official said players who had not applied for US visas before the Iran war submitted applications in the Turkish capital.
Some foreign-based Iranian players joined the squad in Ankara before traveling to a training camp in Antalya, the official said.
The World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play all three group-stage matches in the United States, facing New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles before playing Egypt in Seattle.
Iran’s internet blackout entered its 83rd day on Thursday, with international networks largely barred for more than 1,968 hours, internet monitor NetBlocks said.
"A free and open internet is central to the protection of life, liberty and public accountability," it added.
A young Iranian woman’s account of temporarily caring for an infant under a state welfare program sparked debate across Persian-language social media this week over child privacy, foster care and the use of vulnerable children in online content.
Sara Kanaani, a social media influencer, documented what she described as “40 days of motherhood” after taking custody of a baby through Iran’s Mizban temporary foster care scheme run by the State Welfare Organization.
State-affiliated outlets including IRNA and Hamshahri newspaper amplified the story with emotional coverage focused on the woman’s attachment to the child and the separation that followed.
Images of Kanaani without mandatory hijab also circulated through state media, drawing further attention online.
Foster care program under spotlight
The Mizban program, launched in 2023, allows children from welfare institutions to be placed temporarily with approved families or individuals while remaining under state supervision.
Unlike adoption, custody under the program is limited in duration and does not transfer permanent parental rights.
The Iranian influcencer sits beside a baby placed through Iran’s Mizban temporary foster care program.
Iran’s Welfare Organization says applicants are assessed for financial stability, mental health and caregiving capacity before approval.
Similar foster care systems exist in many countries, where temporary family-based care is generally viewed by specialists as preferable to institutional care for infants and young children.
The controversy intensified after critics accused Kanaani of turning the experience into a sustained social media project through daily videos, emotional posts and photographs of the child.
Some users questioned whether a child unable to consent should become part of a personal online brand or public campaign.
Others raised concerns after Kanaani discussed details about the infant’s biological mother in social media posts.
Wider criticism follows media coverage
Psychologists and child welfare advocates also debated the emotional impact of repeated attachment and separation during infancy.
Some specialists argued temporary family care can still benefit children when conducted under stable and professionally supervised conditions.
Others pointed to a lack of public information about oversight, caregiver training and welfare standards in Iran’s implementation of the program.
Photos published and later removed by Iranian state media showed an influencer with a baby placed through Iran’s Mizban temporary foster care program.
Part of the attention surrounding the case focused on Kanaani’s status as a single woman.
Iranian law permits unmarried women over 30 to adopt girls under certain conditions, though couples remain prioritized in most custody arrangements.
Critics also questioned the role of state media, saying the extensive coverage reflected efforts to promote emotionally driven narratives centered on women, family and social solidarity during a period of economic and social strain in Iran.
Twenty Iranian sailors who were aboard a vessel seized by the United States off Singapore have returned home after diplomatic efforts involving Iran, Pakistan and Singapore, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan thanked Islamabad for what he called humanitarian efforts to secure the release of the sailors, who he said had been in poor conditions after their ship was seized in Singapore waters.
He said the sailors were transferred from Singapore to Islamabad after diplomatic efforts and returned to Iran hours later.
Britain’s Foreign Office is set to halve the size of its team handling the fallout from the Iran war as part of severe job cuts, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
The team was formed at the start of the conflict and worked from a crisis bunker at the Foreign Office’s London headquarters, helping support and evacuate British nationals in the region, according to the report.
The downsizing is being overseen by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper as the UK deals with two major wars, it added.
Iran has restarted some drone production during the ceasefire, a sign it is rapidly rebuilding military capabilities damaged by US-Israeli strikes, CNN reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with US intelligence assessments.
Four sources said that US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is rebuilding much faster than initially estimated.
Some US intelligence estimates indicate Iran could fully restore its drone attack capability in as soon as six months, a US official was quoted as saying.
“The Iranians have exceeded all timelines the IC had for reconstitution,” the official said.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CNN in a statement that “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing.”
“We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the US military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell added.
