Iranian Americans plan protests as team prepares for their World Cup opener

INGLEWOOD, California – The Iran football team were preparing to play their first match at the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles on June 15, with protests expected by the city’s large Iranian diaspora against both the government in Tehran and the US war.

The team arrived in the US for the first time at this World Cup on June 14, flying from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, and touching down in Los Angeles just as a deal was announced to end the US-Iran war.

They are set to play New Zealand in Group G at 6pm local time (9am Singapore time).

Iran’s participation in the tournament has been beset by controversy against the backdrop of the war, which began in late February when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

That followed nationwide protests in January inside Iran in which thousands were killed in a bloody government crackdown.

In recent weeks, the football team changed their base from Arizona to Mexico, while their federation complained that not all their staff received US visas and that tickets allocated to supporters had been withdrawn.

In Los Angeles – home to the biggest Iranian community outside Iran, many of whom fled the country after the Islamic Revolution – Iranian American soccer fans say they have been left torn between excitement at seeing the team on the world’s biggest stage, anger at Tehran’s crackdown on protesters, and concern about Washington’s bombing campaign.

Security was tight in Inglewood on the morning of June 15 near the stadium where the match will take place. Several nearby roads were already closed off and police officers patrolled the area.

About a dozen protesters gathered outside the stadium, and bigger protests are expected. Some in the community have said they will watch the match on TV, uneasy over possible trouble at the stadium or that their attendance would imply support for Iran’s government.

“How can they go to cheer a team that comes with the flag of the Islamic Republic and national anthem?” said Koroush Krumarsi at a protest held outside the team hotel on June 14.

Others have indicated they will go to the match and try to smuggle in symbols of protest, including the pre-revolutionary Iran flag, which is the same colours as the current official flag but has a different lion-and-sun motif.

That sets up a potential clash with security and US rights of freedom of speech and expression.

Iran has threatened to halt matches if unofficial flags are brought in or slogans chanted. A California non-profit filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent any restrictions, but that was rejected on June 15 at a court hearing, according to The Athletic, which cited the judge as saying that a stadium was not a public forum and that enforcing such a change at the last minute could be harmful to staff.

When asked about the matter, FIFA said that it prohibits flags or apparel of a political nature. But it has not commented specifically on what its approach will be to the Iranian pre-revolutionary flag. REUTERS