Mehdi Torabi played Iran's World Cup opener against New Zealand on Monday. Whether he plays the next one is genuinely uncertain. The winger was issued a single-entry US visa — not the multiple-entry visa given to the rest of the squad — meaning the moment he left Los Angeles after the 2-2 draw, his permission to re-enter the country expired with him.
State news agency IRNA confirmed Tuesday that the Iranian Football Federation is working to secure a new visa for Torabi. It also confirmed that all squad members were on the plane departing for Mexico — but pointedly stopped short of saying whether Torabi had actually made it out of the US without incident.
This isn't an isolated admin error
Around 15 members of Iran's delegation were denied US visas ahead of the tournament. Iran relocated its base camp to Mexico over security concerns and is travelling in and out of the United States for each group-stage game — an arrangement that was always going to create friction. Torabi's situation is the most visible consequence of that friction so far.
Captain Mehdi Taremi and a staff member also reportedly faced difficulties at LAX on departure. So the team managed a creditable draw in their opener while simultaneously navigating an airport ordeal. That's not context — that's the actual story of this Iran squad right now.
Iran face Belgium on Sunday in Los Angeles, then Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. Both games are on US soil. If Torabi can't get a new visa in time, he misses at minimum one of them — possibly both. A winger who featured in the opening match, gone for paperwork reasons, not form or fitness.
Group G just got more complicated for Iran, and their squad depth is already being tested before the football itself has barely started. Any pre-tournament price on Iran progressing from the group should now factor in that their available options might keep narrowing with every border crossing.
The US and tournament organisers had not commented as of Tuesday.
