Report: Iranian soccer team granted visas to enter US for World Cup
The World Cup's host receiving a nation it is at war with is without precedent in the tournament's history
Iran's World Cup soccer players have been granted visas to enter the United States, a Reuters cited a White House official as saying on Friday, amid a fragile ceasefire between the two countries.
Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said late on Thursday the squad had still not received their U.S. visas but these were granted overnight, the White House official said.
This comes a mere 10 days before the Iranians' first World Cup match in Los Angeles.
A situation whereby a host nation is receiving a country it is at war with is without precedent in the near-century-old history of the world's most popular sporting tournament.
While Washington has never formally said it did not want the Iran team to stay on its territory, earlier this week Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that the US would not allow Iran to include in its World Cup delegation individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The stricture could apply to several players in the Iranian squad who have completed military service with the group.