Iran forward Mehdi Torabi has received a new visa and will be able to participate in the remainder of the FIFA World Cup, spokespersons from the U.S. State Department and the Iran Football Federation told ESPN.
Torabi, 31, was an unused substitute for Iran in Monday’s 2-2 draw against New Zealand. But after the match, it emerged that his visa had expired because he had been given a single-entry visa, while the rest of his teammates had been given what are called multiple-entry visas.
In a statement to ESPN, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson said: “This issue has been resolved. As soon as we became aware of the issue, we worked to ensure that the player can participate in every game.”
The Iran Football Federation’s media department later issued a statement to ESPN confirming Torabi’s visa status.
“Torabi’s previous single-entry U.S. visa had expired. Following efforts by the Football Federation and coordination with FIFA, the player was issued a new multiple-entry visa [on Tuesday],” the statement read. “With this visa now secured, Torabi will have no issues accompanying Iran’s national team in its upcoming matches and will be available to travel with the squad throughout the remainder of the tournament.”
The issue of visas has long been contentious between the Iran Football Federation and the U.S. State Department, given the war that took place between Israel and the U.S. on one side, and Iran on the other. Further complicating matters is the fact that Iran is playing all three of its group stage matches in the U.S., with two in the Los Angeles area, and another in Seattle.
Iran moved its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, due to the fact that 13 members of the Iran delegation were denied visas to enter the U.S., including the president of the Iran Football Federation, Mehdi Taj. While the State Department has declined to speak about individuals whose visas were denied, Taj previously was a high-ranking intelligence officer with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said previously that the U.S. wouldn’t allow Iran to embed individuals with IRGC ties within its delegation.
According to the U.S. Department of State website, a single-entry visa allows a person to enter the U.S. only once during its validity period. Once that person leaves, the visa expires, even if the expiration date hasn’t passed. A multiple-entry visa lets an individual leave and re-enter the U.S. an unlimited number of times until the visa expires, as long as it’s for the same purpose.
Another contentious issue between the Iran Football Federation and the U.S. State Department is over how long the Iran team can remain in the U.S. to play its matches. An Iran Football Federation spokesperson told ESPN last week that the team would be allowed to arrive in the U.S. the day before its matches and leave the day after. But Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei said there had been a last-minute change and the team had to leave immediately following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in its first group-stage game.
Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, said in an interview with ABC News: “The Iranian team, we let them come in the day before the match for what’s a 27-minute flight from Tijuana to Los Angeles. I think that the United States has been more than fair. We’ve gotten visas for all 31 of the players, gotten visas for every coach, so that way there can be competitive balance. So, I would respond by saying that they’re welcome for our hospitality.”
Giuliani confirmed that Iran always knew that they would have to leave their World Cup venues immediately after the match.
“We were clear this was the process,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
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