Iran’s national football team arrived in Los Angeles from its training base in Tijuana ahead of its World Cup Group G opener against New Zealand. The match will take place amid the recently announced end of the U.S.-Iran war, with Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying a formal peace agreement will be signed in Switzerland. Security was tightened around the team’s hotel, while pro-democracy Iranian protesters gathered near the stadium to denounce Tehran’s repression and commemorate athletes allegedly killed after being detained. The event marks the first World Cup in which a host country receives a nation with which it is at war.

Iran’s national team arrived in Los Angeles from its training base in Tijuana ahead of its World Cup opener against New Zealand. The team’s arrival comes amid war-related tensions between Iran and the United States, heightened security, and a protest in Los Angeles calling for political change in Iran. The team had received a warm send-off from fans in Mexico, while its move from Arizona to Mexico had followed US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Los Angeles’s large Iranian community adds significance to the team’s presence.

Iran’s national football team arrived in Los Angeles on June 14 ahead of its World Cup debut against New Zealand, shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s prime minister announced a planned agreement to end the war between Washington and Tehran. The team had moved its training base from Arizona to Mexico after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Supporters in Tijuana gave the players an emotional send-off, while demonstrators near the Los Angeles stadium protested Iran’s government and called for FIFA to suspend or expel the country, citing alleged human-rights abuses. The match marks the first time a World Cup host country is set to welcome a nation with which it is at war.

Iran’s national football team left its training base in Tijuana to travel to Los Angeles for its World Cup debut against New Zealand, receiving an enthusiastic send-off from fans who chanted, displayed signs, and sought autographs. Iranian-American community members planned a nearby protest against alleged human-rights abuses by Iran’s clerical government. The team had moved its base from Arizona to Mexico amid the war involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

Iran's national football team received an enthusiastic farewell from supporters outside its training hotel in Tijuana before traveling to Los Angeles for its 2026 World Cup opener against New Zealand. Fans chanted, waved Iranian flags and followed the team bus, while Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj observed the departure. The match will take place against the backdrop of war between Iran and the United States, following joint U.S.-Israeli attacks that prompted Iran to move its World Cup base from Arizona to Mexico. Iranian-Americans in Los Angeles also planned a protest concerning alleged ongoing human-rights violations by Iran's government.

Iran’s national soccer team received an enthusiastic farewell from supporters outside its hotel in Tijuana before traveling to Los Angeles for its World Cup opener against New Zealand. The team moved its base camp from Arizona to Mexico after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, making the match the first World Cup fixture involving nations at war. Iranian American activists plan to protest the Iranian government’s human rights abuses near the stadium, adding political tension to the match.

Iran held an open training session in Tijuana after moving its World Cup base from the United States amid tensions following joint U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. The team is due to face New Zealand in its group-stage opener in Los Angeles and plans to travel there the day before the match for training and a FIFA press conference. Iranian players are expected to enter the United States one day before each of their three group matches.

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