Iran team arrive in US for World Cup opener as the two nations reach peace deal

Highlights:
- US-Iran peace
deal expected to be signed Friday
- Coach says
team hopes to bring joy to Iranians everywhere
- Iranian fans
in Tijuana give team warm send-off before World Cup opener
- Iranian
Americans protest in LA over Iranian government's human rights abuses
Iran's soccer team arrived in the United States for the
first time at this World Cup on Sunday, landing at Los Angeles International
Airport and holding a press conference on the same day that a peace deal
between the two nations was announced.
The Iran squad arrived after a
short flight from Tijuana, Mexico, where they left their base camp earlier to a
rousing send-off ahead of their opening game against New Zealand at Los Angeles
Stadium on Monday.
"I am very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of
Iran," Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said through a translator in a press
conference at the stadium.
"I hope that football will
bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and
countries."
The squad's Group G fixture against
New Zealand will be played against the backdrop of the US war with Iran and the
newly announced peace deal, adding a charged atmosphere to a contest between
two nations who have never met at a World Cup.
Iran moved their World Cup base
camp from a sports complex in Arizona to Mexico late last month after the US
and Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran beginning in late February.
Iran will now have to make the trip
from Mexico to the US for each of their three group matches and Ghalenoei said
the travel and the denial of visas into the US for some members of their soccer
federation had negatively affected the squad.
The US-Iran deal to end the war
will be signed during an official ceremony on Friday in Switzerland, US
President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on
social media on Sunday.
Bring an end to this regime
While the squad flew to LA, a group
of protesters calling for democracy in Iran and denouncing its government rallied
near Los Angeles Stadium.
"No Shah - No Mullah in Iran -
Regime Change by Iranians," said placards. Pictures and posters of
athletes who protesters said had died after being arrested by the Iranian
government lined a busy street corner in Inglewood.
The January crackdown on protests
in Iran, which rights groups and activists say killed thousands - and possibly
tens of thousands - was a particular outrage to Mojgan Ramezani, 56, an Iranian
American at the rally.
"They're holding hostage their
own people," said Ramezani.
Hassan Haddadi, 70, said he was
frustrated that most of the world's governments had done little to support
change in Iran.
"We're hoping to bring
awareness to the Western world, to somehow do something beyond just condemning,
to bring an end to this regime," said Haddadi.
Ghalenoei said the squad's players
and coaches were "not political people."
"We are here to play football
and represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or
the Iranian diaspora."
Mexico stands with you
Earlier in Tijuana, supporters
lining five-deep on a packed pavement outside Iran's hotel chanted "Team
Melli" — Persian for "national team" — as the Iranian players
emerged from the hotel and walked towards the waiting bus.
Many of the players waved and
smiled at those who had gathered while some members of the delegation took
video of the scene with their phones.
One supporter held a yellow sign
with black lettering reading: "Iran, you will never walk alone. Mexico
stands with you."
A young boy perched on someone's
shoulders clutched the official Panini FIFA World Cup 2026 sticker album, open
to the Iran squad page.
At one point, the crowd sang in
Spanish, "Iran, brother, you are Mexican now."
Iranian soccer federation President
Mehdi Taj stood outside the hotel as the players left with many of the
supporters following the bus down the street as it drove away.
The Iranian community in Tijuana is
tiny - around 20 people - and much smaller than that of Los Angeles, which is
home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.
Tens of thousands of Iranian
Americans live in Los Angeles, where a distinct diaspora often referred to as
"Tehrangeles" has taken root.
This is the first World Cup since
its inception in 1930 in which a host nation has received a country it is at
war with.
















