Iran announces participation in World Cup draw after apparent change of heart
On Wednesday, Iran announced that it will now dispatch officials to the World Cup final draw in Washington, representing a total reversal from its prior plan to abstain from the proceedings due to complications with visas.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Football Federation informed state television that Amir Ghalenoei, the national teams head coach, will take part in the World Cup draw event as the technical delegate for the squad, joined by one or two additional individuals.
Just last Friday, the federations spokesperson had notified FIFA that the Iranian group would not attend the event because the United States had denied visas to various delegates.
The Iranian sports site Varzesh 3 had previously indicated that among those denied visas was Mehdi Taj, the federations president.
We have communicated to FIFAs president, Mr Gianni Infantino, that this is entirely a political stance and FIFA should urge them, the US, to stop this conduct, Taj remarked at that time.
Varzesh 3 reported that visas were approved for four delegates, including Ghalenoei, ahead of the draw scheduled for 5 December.
Iran earned its spot in the tournaments flagship event back in March, marking their fourth consecutive outing at the World Cup finals and seventh overall.
Although they have not yet advanced beyond the group phase, immense celebrations erupted during the 1998 tournament in France when Iran defeated the USA 2-1 in their group encounter.
The USA got their revenge by narrowly winning 1-0 against Iran in the 2022 tournament held in Qatar.
The United States, which is jointly hosting the World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, has maintained tense relations with Iran for more than four decades.
Nevertheless, the two nations had engaged in senior level discussions on nuclear matters that commenced in April, where disagreements centred on Irans entitlement to uranium enrichment, which Tehran describes as an essential right.
Those talks concluded in mid June after Israel initiated a massive aerial assault on Iran, sparking a 12 day conflict that saw Washington provide limited support through attacks on critical Iranian nuclear sites.