Monday, 15 June 2026
Monday, 15 June 2026
Iranian Americans are torn over Iran's participation in the World Cup, as some community members plan to watch Monday's match and others plan to protest outside the stadium where the team will play.
A rally is planned for outside the stadium near Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.
Many of Southern California's Iranian Americans arrived after the Islamic Revolution, and a hub of eateries, shops and markets about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the stadium is known as "Tehrangeles." Between 350,000 to 500,000 Iranians live in California, according to Pew Research Centre.
Rally participants plan to wear lion-and-sun T-shirts and wave the country's flag from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in protest of Tehran's deadly January crackdown on dissent.
Ali Javahery, a 59-year-old consultant who was born in Iran and lives in California's Orange County, said he will be outside protesting Iran's opening match against New Zealand, not inside watching it. He said soccer and politics are intertwined, and though he loves the sport, he says the national team's players are under pressure to adhere to the Iranian government's positions.
"This is not Team Melli,'" as the national team is known in Persian, Javahery said. "This is Team Islamic Republic."
Iran's participation in the tournament has been fraught with conflict because of the country's war with US and Israeli forces. The team moved its training base to Mexico from Tucson, Arizona, and some of the country's key soccer officials had not been granted visas to enter the United States. Many in the diaspora have mixed feelings over how to show their support of the Iranian people, but not the government, through their love of soccer.
"We play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran. People have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live," team captain Mehdi Taremi said at a press conference Sunday. "We are here to bring joy to Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football."
Reza Garajedaghi, 57, said he will watch the game with his 96-year-old father in San Diego. He said he didn't buy tickets for the game, partly because of the sky-high pricing. But he said he supports the team, politics aside, while respecting the wide range of views shared by Iranians in the diaspora.
"I'm a football die-hard, and the boys, they're representing all Persians, Iranians around the world," said Garajedaghi, who left Iran when he was 10 years old. "To me, it has nothing to do with whatever government they have in Iran."
Watch parties are planned to cheer on the team in Southern California, and when Iran was assigned last year to play in LA, many bought tickets. But in recent months some said they have sold off their tickets in anger, following January's brutal repression.
Some Iranian American football fans have also said the team is currently tied up in politics. In the past, Iranian athletes have faced serious consequences for speaking out. In 2022, a prominent former member of the national team was arrested for allegedly protesting against the country's leadership, and star striker Sardar Azmoun wasn't selected for the World Cup squad this year, reportedly because of a social media post that angered authorities.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei called Azmoun an "excellent player" and said he wished he were with the team.
"I am just happy that they are coming to watch us and I hope that they will pray for us and I hope that they will encourage us," Ghalenoei said Sunday when asked about the sizable diaspora. He added that he hoped the team would pay back that loyalty by playing a good game.
Some Iranian Americans are also upset about Fifa's rule barring political flags from being flown. They want to fly the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag, which is not the official flag of Iran. The Iranian American Institute for Voices for Liberty said it filed a lawsuit last week in California to challenge Fifa's flag rule.
During Friday's opening ceremony in Los Angeles, members of the mostly American crowd booed when Iran's flag was brought onto the field.
Iran's football team arrived in the United States for the first time at this World Cup on Sunday, landing at Los Angeles International Airport just before a peace deal between the nations was announced. The squad arrived after a short flight from Tijuana, Mexico, where they left their base camp earlier to a rousing sendoff ahead of their opening game against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday. The A320 aircraft touched down on runway 25L at 4:11 p.m. ET (2011 GMT) on its second landing attempt under sunny skies at the airport, which is about 15 minutes from the Los Angeles Stadium that will host Iran's World Cup opener against New Zealand on Monday.
Late Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that the US had reached a deal with Iran to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The war launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28 has rattled the region and virtually shut down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. Details of the deal, expected to be signed Friday, weren't available.
The team were expected to head to their hotel where a police security presence was already in place. Sidewalks were being blocked off by police, who were extending concertina security coils along sections of the front of the hotel.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei and striker Mehdi Taremi are scheduled to take part in a press conference at Los Angeles Stadium at 6:45 p.m. ET (2245 GMT). The squad's Group G fixture against New Zealand will be played against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran and the newly announced peace deal, adding a charged atmosphere to a contest between two nations who have never met at the 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. 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.
