TEHRAN: Iran&#39;s football squad, whose participation in the World Cup remains uncertain, have handed their passports to the US embassy in Turkey for visas, the head of their Football Federation said on Friday. Mehdi Taj said Iran were following instructions from world football&#39;s governing body. Their quest for the visas comes as Iran and the United States remain locked in negotiations to end the Middle East war that began in February with a massive wave of strikes on the Islamic Republic. &quot;Yesterday, I had discussions with FIFA regarding the US visas,&quot; Taj said. &quot;We were told to submit all passports to the US embassy in Ankara.&quot; The Iranian team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before traveling on to their base camp in Mexico, which has issued visas to the squad. &quot;We are waiting to see what happens today or, at the latest, tomorrow, because our national team needs to receive these passports and travel with them to Tijuana,&quot; said Taj. Taj said the Iranian Football Federation had &quot;raised certain points and requests, in such a way that FIFA was told that if they (the Americans) do not issue visas for the players, some members of our technical staff, and other sections of our delegation, we may make other decisions.&quot; &quot;My assessment is that all visas will be issued in full, and there most likely will not be any problem in this regard,&quot; he added. The Iranians relocated their World Cup base, which initially was planned to be in Tucson, Arizona, to the northwestern Mexican border city of Tijuana. All three of their group matches are in the United States. They open with two games in Los Angeles, against against New Zealand on 15 June and Belgium on 21 June, and play Egypt on &nbsp;27 June in Seattle.

Iran's Forward #23 Ramin Rezaeian celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's second goal during an international friendly football match between Iran and Gambia, in Antalya, southern Turkey, May 29, 2026, as part of Iran's preparation for the up

Middle East

The Iranian team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before traveling on to their base camp in Mexico, which has issued visas to the squad.

Iran squad hand passports to US embassy for visa approval

OSLO: A Norwegian court has sentenced a former US embassy security guard to three years and seven months in prison for spying for Russia and Iran. The 28-year-old Norwegian man was convicted of providing floor plans, personal details of embassy staff and their families, and information about activities at the US embassy between March and November 2024. In exchange, he was paid 10,000 euros ($11,700) from Russian intelligence and 0.17 bitcoin from Iranian intelligence, the court ruled Wednesday. US security interests&nbsp;In its judgment made public Thursday, the Oslo court said the information was &quot;of a nature that could be used for direct actions and physical attacks against the concerned individuals.&quot; &quot;The accused understood that disclosing this information could harm US security interests,&quot; the court noted. During his trial, the accused admitted to spying, which he said was in protest against the United States&#39; backing of Israel&#39;s offensive in Gaza, but denied the charge of aggravated espionage for which he was convicted. He argued that the information he transmitted was not classified. List of mail services&nbsp;In Norway, Serbia, or Turkey, he provided Russian and/or Iranian authorities with the names, addresses, phone numbers, and license plate numbers of embassy diplomats and employees, as well as their spouses and children. He also sent embassy plans, security routines, and a list of mail services used by Norwegian intelligence. The prosecution had asked for a sentence of six years and four months for the crime, which is punishable by up to 21 years in prison in Norway. Norwegian intelligence services have regularly identified Russia -- with whom the NATO member shares a border in the Arctic -- Iran, and China as the main countries conducting intelligence operations in Norway.

Europe

The 28-year-old Norwegian man was convicted of providing floor plans, personal details of embassy staff; the man was paid 10,000 euros ($11,700) from Russian intelligence and 0.17 bitcoin from Iranian intelligence, the court ruled Wednesday.

Articles tagged with "US embassy"

Iran squad hand passports to US embassy for visa approval

Ex-US embassy guard in Norway convicted of spying for Russia, Iran

Iran squad hand passports to US embassy for visa approval