Iran's World Cup team arrives in Los Angeles under the shadow of its war with the United States

Arrival from exile in Tijuana

Iran's national football team arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, flying in from their temporary base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, roughly 140 miles from the stadium where they will face New Zealand in Group G on Monday night. The A320 aircraft landed at 4:11 p.m. ET under sunny skies, about 15 minutes from Los Angeles Stadium. Police security was already in place at the team hotel. Coach Amir Ghalenoei and captain Mehdi Taremi were scheduled to hold a pre-match press conference at 6:45 p.m. ET.

The team relocated its training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana late last month after the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran in late February. The war has since flared and paused repeatedly, and on Sunday President Donald Trump announced an emerging peace deal. FIFA rejected Iran's request to play its group-stage matches outside the U.S., citing logistical and contractual constraints, forcing the team to cross the border on the eve of its opener.

A captain speaks of joy lost

Taremi did not hide the strain. "I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup," he said through an interpreter. "At any tournament when there is tension, we won't have the same beautiful experience we always talk about with peace and joy." The Olympiacos striker, 33, appearing in his third World Cup, added: "This kind of tension, it undermines that joy and it undermines the message of FIFA and our people, which is that football brings about peace."

Visa problems compounded the disruption. A team spokesperson confirmed that two members of the media relations group were denied U.S. visas for the opening match, and Iran's federation had earlier said that World Cup tickets for Iranian fans were revoked days before the tournament.

Protests frame an already volatile fixture

As the squad flew to LA, a rally of Iranian Americans gathered near Los Angeles Stadium, carrying placards that read "No Shah - No Mullah in Iran - Regime Change by Iranians." Posters displayed images of athletes the protesters said had died after being arrested by the government. Mojgan Ramezani, 56, an Iranian American at the rally, said the killing of tens of thousands of young protesters in Iran in January was a particular outrage. "They're holding hostage their own people," she said. Another demonstrator, 70-year-old Hassan Haddadi, urged Western governments to move beyond condemnation and "bring an end to this regime."

I feel like this World Cup could have provided a better atmosphere than it has, but I hope in the future it will be better for all fans, whatever team they are supporting in the World Cup.

A divided diaspora united by Team Melli

In Tijuana, a tiny Iranian community of about 20 people gave the squad an emotional sendoff. Suppor ters lining the sidewalk chanted "Team Melli" and held a sign reading "Iran, you will never walk alone. Mexico stands with you." The crowd even sang in Spanish, "Iran, brother, you are Mexican now." But even here, political fissures ran deep: the lion-and-sun flag of pre-revolution Iran, displayed at the city's second Iranian restaurant, repels some who see it as a symbol of the former Shah's regime. Yet both sides of the divide set aside differences to back the national team.

A first in World Cup history

This year's tournament marks the first World Cup in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with. The charged atmosphere recalls the 1998 match between Iran and the United States, which Iran won and which briefly unified a fractured nation. But this time, the Iranian regime faces opposition at home and abroad, and a victory against New Zealand - or a possible later meeting with the U.S. - would play out in a radically different context.

Iran and New Zealand have never met at a World Cup. Kickoff is scheduled for Monday night at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California.