MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The World Cup kicks off later this week and most teams have been settling in at their base camps. But the Iranian national team has been forced to find a new camp south of the border in Tijuana. That's where NPR's Eyder Peralta is. Hi, Eyder.
EYDER PERALTA, BYLINE: Hey, Michel.
MARTIN: So why is the Iranian team in Mexico?
PERALTA: I mean, look, what's happening here is extraordinary. It's the first time a World Cup host country is set to receive a country that it is fighting a war against. The U.S., Israel and Iran are at war. And the U.S. said, fine, the Iranian national team can play in this tournament, but they can't spend their nights in the U.S. Last month, Mexico said they would be happy to host Iran here in Tijuana, that a local team, the Xolos, would give them space to train.
Iran, which qualified for the World Cup more than a year ago, was supposed to train in Tucson, Arizona. But everything has been up in the air since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran in February. The U.S. didn't even approve Iran's visas until Friday, and a few in the delegation, including the head of the federation, didn't get visas at all. And Iran isn't the only delegation facing tough treatment from the U.S. Just two examples - Iraq's team photographer was denied entry by the U.S. And over the weekend, a Somali referee, one of the best on the African continent, was also turned away over, quote, "vetting concerns."
MARTIN: Wow. But you've been in Tijuana following the Iranian team, right? What have you seen?
PERALTA: Here, it's a lovefest. I was outside the team hotel yesterday and there was a small group of people there. Sina Moghadam (ph), an Iranian American, drove from San Diego to see them. And as they came out of the hotel to head to practice, he had tears in his eyes. When he saw the team's coach, he shouted from behind a fence.
SINA MOGHADAM: (Speaking Persian).
PERALTA: And he's wishing them luck there. But then he also goes on to give the coach advice. He said, "be hard on these kids. Tell them to pass the ball a lot more." I also spoke to Ahmed Giovanni (ph), who said he tips his had to this national team because they've been through a lot and they're still showing up to a hostile place to play.
AHMED GIOVANNI: (Speaking Spanish).
PERALTA: They're brave and he hopes they do well. And he says Iran's national team is now part of the Tijuana family and that the city has yet another home team to cheer on, he said.
MARTIN: Aw. So we've talked about the geopolitics being in the backdrop. Can you sense that where you are?
PERALTA: Yeah, you can feel it. The team got here early on Sunday. And the players got off the plane wearing pins that read #168. And that is a reference to an airstrike that killed 168 elementary school students at the beginning of this conflict. Iran blames the U.S. for that strike. The U.S. hasn't taken responsibility. The team hotel is also surrounded by heavily armed Mexican National Guard. On Sunday, when the team arrived, the U.S. Border Patrol flew a helicopter low on the other side of the border.
And look; the Mexican government prides itself on being nonaligned, but they're walking a tightrope here. U.S.-Mexican relations are tense. And now here is Mexico hosting a sports team representing an enemy of the United States. As one political analyst told me, this could easily become political fodder.
MARTIN: OK, really briefly, can we talk about the soccer?
PERALTA: Yeah.
MARTIN: Does Iran have a shot?
PERALTA: Well, you know, they're ranked No. 20 in the world. So realistically, they don't have much of a chance they'll advance beyond the group stage. But you know what? If this team does win, everyone here told me they would receive them with a big party.
MARTIN: All right. That is NPR's Eyder Peralta reporting from Tijuana. Eyder, thank you.
PERALTA: Thank you, Michel.
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