IRAN MOVES WORLD CUP BASE TO MEXICO AND WANTS GUARANTEES ON VISAS AND SECURITY

National team will fly to the US on day of games after Washington refuses to host squad

Iran's players training in Antalya, Turkey, as they prepare for the World Cup. AFP

Iran's national team will base themselves in Mexico and travel ​to ​the US on ​the days of its three World Cup ⁠matches after Washington declined to host the squad, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said ​on Monday.

Sheinbaum said Fifa approached her government after US authorities said they did not ⁠want Iran staying in the country throughout the June 11-July 19 competition, even though Iran are scheduled to play three Group G matches there.

 "We have no reason to deny ⁠them the possibility of staying in Mexico," Sheinbaum told her daily press conference.

Iran are currently preparing for the tournament in Antalya, southern Turkey.

They ​are set to face New ‌Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June ​21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. US President Donald Trump said in March that Iran were welcome to participate in the World Cup but that he did not believe it was appropriate for them to be in the United States "for their own life and safety".

Mehdi Taj, head of Iran's football federation, said on Saturday the team's base would be moved from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana during the tournament. Fifa confirmed the move on Monday. Taj added that the swap would help avoid visa-related complications and allow direct Iran Air flights to ​Mexico.

Iran's World Cup plans have been under scrutiny ‌since late February, when the United ⁠States joined Israel in attacks on Iran, ​triggering a war that raised doubts over whether Tehran would send ​its team ‌to play in one of the host countries.

Members of the Iranian national football team camp arrive at the US Embassy in Ankara for their visa application on May 21. AFP

In March, Taj said Iran were in ⁠talks with Fifa about moving its group matches to Mexico on safety ⁠grounds, and Sheinbaum said Mexico would be open to hosting them. Fifa refused the request.

The uncertainty fueled wider speculation about Iran's place at the tournament. Iran qualified for a fourth consecutive World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.

Visas and enhanced security

According to various reports at the start of May, Iran had asked Fifa for several guarantees. The demands came after Taj was denied entry to Canada for last month's Fifa Congress.

Chief among them was that their players, coaches and other officials will receive visas to attend the tournament.

That included visas for those on the team who have completed military service with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is listed as a terrorist organisation in Canada and the US.

“All players and technical staff, especially those who served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, should be granted visas without problems,” Taj, a former commander of Iran's IRGC, told Iranian media.

According to a report from the BBC, the Iranian Football Federation also wants assurances that its team will receive enhanced security during the tournament and that respect for the Iranian flag and national anthem will be maintained.

Iranian officials have also reportedly asked for journalists to avoid questions beyond "technical football matters".

- The National

MEXICAN PRESIDENT SHEINBAUM SAYS 'THERE'S NO RISK FOR FIFA WORLD CUP VENUES DESPITE FALLOUT FROM KILLING OF EL MENCHO

 Mexico will host 13 games across Jalisco, Monterrey and Mexico City

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum HECTOR VIVAS/GETTY IMAGES

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claimed there is no risk for the security of the FIFA World Cup matches that the country will host later this year despite the fallout from the killing of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," the longtime leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

Asked about the issue during her daily press conference on Tuesday, Sheinbaum said that "all guarantees are given" for the 13 matches that will be played in Mexico City, Jalisco and Monterrey.

Sheinbaum has also said that the country is already "calm and peaceful," adding that federal and state forces are working in coordination following backlash from cartel operatives, which included road blocks and different violent acts across the country.

Sheinbaum went on to say that all major roads in the country are clear and authorities will swiftly respond to any incident.

According to official figures presented by Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch and Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, about 70 people were killed and about 20 injured in multiple Mexican states following the military operation that resulted in the death of El Mencho.

Trevilla detailed casualties from the operation itself, saying three soldiers were killed in direct clashes in a wooded area of Jalisco and three more died from injuries while being airlifted to a hospital. He said troops also killed eight suspected gunmen, detained two people and seized weapons including seven long guns and two rocket launchers of Russian origin.

Elsewhere in the conference, the general said that forces managed to find El Mencho after tracking down a lover of his. Once the person left the premise, officers confirmed that El Mencho stayed there. Forces then moved on to detain him, engaging in a shootout with cartel operatives there.

Trevilla Trejo noted that that El Mencho tried to escape while leaving a group of operatives behind to slow down government forces. He made it to a nearby wood, but forces pinned him down and wounded him. El Mencho was taken to a helicopter heading to Mexico City, but he died on the way.

Another report detailed that the CIA provided 'instrumental' information to locate "El Mencho." Citing a U.S. official briefed on the operation, The New York Times detailed that the agency has several ways of collecting information in the country, including human informants, overhead imagery and intercepted communications.

The outlet went on to say that the U.S. has stepped up intelligence-sharing with the country and pressuring it to act on it. Mexican authorities confirmed there was cooperation with the U.S. in the operation.