MEXICO CITY, Mexico — The first booth World Cup fans encounter at the global fan expo in Mexico City’s Chapultepec Park belongs to Iran.
Inside, women in colorful headscarves serve sambuseh, a traditional Persian pastry, alongside stuffed dates. Persian rugs hang beside vases. The welcoming scene stands in sharp contrast to the reception Iran has received from the U.S., where its national team will play its first match against New Zealand on Monday.
While Iran was one of the first nations to qualify for the World Cup, U.S. President Donald Trump has been lukewarm about the country’s participation since the conflict began in February, and the State Department did not approve visas for all members of the Iranian delegation.
POLITICO spoke with Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, through his Spanish translator at the expo before he departed for Tijuana, where Iran’s national team is training after moving its pre-tournament camp from Tucson, Arizona.
Pasandideh remarked on Iran’s relations with the United States at a delicate moment. The visa denials impacting some of the Iranian team’s coaching staff may have a negative impact on the team’s performance, he said.
But as the two countries move closer to a potential peace agreement, Pasandideh pointed to Iran’s decision to send its national team to compete on U.S. soil as evidence of Tehran’s posture.
“The fact of our presence in the U.S. in a time of war sends a signal: We are in favor of peace,” he said.
And he had a direct message for Trump.
“If the U.S. closes its eyes to Israel’s interests,” Pasandideh said, “Iran and the U.S. can be very good friends.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What does it mean for Iran to be playing at the World Cup against many odds?
The presence of our national team means that our team stands on the side of peace. Sentimentally, some think that Iran should not participate because the U.S. has attacked our country. But the idea we hold is a humanist one, and we believe that all human beings deserve the best in order to spread peace. Our national team will participate even on U.S. soil, and we have the following message: We have no problem with the American nation.
What has it been like to work with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government as you’ve prepared for the tournament?
Look, the truth is we have a very good relationship with Mexico. In fact, the history of our relations goes back 124 years. Our national team in Tijuana feels at home. Our presence here in the global village signifies that Mexico holds an elevated place in terms of culture and bilateral relations.
We even brought an Iranian music group here just to participate in this event and this shows us how important it is for us – to share homemade Iranian food, our love for art and music, Iranian handicraft, Iranian textiles, Iranian art and jewelry.
Whose idea was it to move the training camp to Mexico, and what were those conversations like? How is the training going? Could you tell us about the team’s experience here so far?
Our national team is a very strong team. For a long time, it was ranked first in Asia and 20th in the world. To participate in this event there were many difficulties. Despite everything, we are participating here and the players are giving their all. However, some of the team’s coaching staff have not been able to obtain visas to enter the United States, and this will surely have an impact on the team’s performance.
What does success for the team look like? How far are you expecting the team to advance?
I believe our team will advance out of the group stage. Our national team expects to get one win and one draw in the group stage. And with that, we will advance.
Do you feel confident it’ll be a smooth trip to the United States?
We believe that two days before our matches we will have the chance to begin the trip to the U.S. According to FIFA regulations, the team’s head coach must attend a press conference one day before the match.
Obviously we’re in a moment where there are active conversations about peace going on. Do you believe that sporting events like the World Cup can help ease tensions?
I believe we can take advantage of the opportunity of football. The U.S., if it is opportunistic, can seize the opportunity of the World Cup to promote peace.
In fact, the Iranian nation has a good characteristic: If they receive a gesture of good faith, they will take two steps in return. If they opt for a new aggression against our country, as we have seen before, we are ready to respond. In Persian, we have a verse [from the 13th century poet Saadi Shirazi] that means, “You did bad things a hundred times and saw the consequences. What was so bad about doing good that you never even did it once?”
The fact of our presence in the U.S. in a time of war sends a signal: We are in favor of peace. If the U.S. can read the signals correctly, it can take advantage of the situation and put an end to the war.
We have a lot of readers in Washington and you have a unique perspective here in Mexico. What is your message to President Trump at this moment?
I ask President Trump to respect our nation. To act based on respect for our nation. And I also believe that if he puts the interests of the U.S. first, it will yield good results. The most important thing is that the Israeli regime does not seek what is good for the U.S. If the U.S. closes its eyes to Israel’s interests, Iran and the US can be very good friends.
To bring it back to football, in the best case scenario, if there is some sort of US-Iran deal, do you believe that it would change the visa situation?
Unfortunately, up to this point nothing has changed. In what remains, if they change their stance, we will receive it as a good signal. We hope that happens.
Tim Röhn contributed to this report.