Iran Team to Stay in Mexico, Commute to US World Cup Games

Iran's World Cup squad is heading to the US this summer—but only on game days, the CBC reports. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that Iran's national soccer team will be based in Tijuana for the June 11-July 19 tournament and fly in to the US for its three Group G matches in Los Angeles and Seattle, after US authorities declined to host the team for the duration. "We have no reason" to refuse the Iranian team lodging in Mexico, Sheinbaum said, adding that FIFA had asked Mexico to step in. Iran will face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, then Egypt in Seattle on June 26. Tijuana is just south of San Diego, California, ESPN reports.

The shift from an original base in Arizona is meant to ease visa issues and allow direct Iran Air flights to Mexico, said Iranian football federation chief Mehdi Taj, with FIFA confirming the change. The move follows heightened tensions after US and Israeli strikes on Iran launched earlier this year, which cast doubt on Iran's participation in the tournament. In March, Taj had said Iran and FIFA were discussing moving the US matches to Mexico, but that never came to fruition, Reuters reports. President Trump has said Iran is welcome to play in the US but argued it wouldn't be "appropriate" for the team to stay there, "for their own life and safety."