(Photo credit: West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
The Iran Football Federation is accusing the United States of 'vindictive behavior' regarding the refusal of visas for managerial and administrative members of its World Cup traveling party.
IFF said 14 officials and staffers have been refused visas prior to upcoming matches in Inglewood, Calif., and Seattle. The list includes the federation's vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi and secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini.
It wasn't immediately known whether federation president Mehdi Taj was issued a visa.
Tensions have been high between the United States and Iran since the war in Iran broke out in February.
The feud led to Iran moving its training camp from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, Mexico. The latter city is just across the U.S. border from San Diego.
According to the IFF, the visa denials have 'effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination.'
The Iran squad has been preparing for the World Cup in Antalya, Turkey, and was set to fly to Mexico on Saturday. The team said it has received its visas from the Mexico Embassy in Antalya.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the Iranian traveling party would be watched closely for people with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
'We have no problem with the athletes, as we stated earlier, or their support staff,' Rubio said. 'But what we're not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature.
'So we were going to watch that very closely, and we'll continue to watch that very closely.'
Iran plays World Cup games against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood. The team finishes group play five days later in Seattle.
The United States and Iran could face each other on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if the two clubs both finish second in their respective groups.
--Field Level Media
