Pakistan, June 7 -- Iran lashed out at the United States on Saturday for refusing visas to some of its World Cup squad support staff as the players were to leave Turkey for Mexico.

The row erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Iranian players, who have been at a training camp in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya since May 18, received their visas late on Friday, Washington's envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack said on X, hailing the work of the US embassy in Ankara in "processing visas for Iran's national football team".

But Iran's embassy to Turkey hit back Saturday with a furious response, saying a "large" number of key staff had been ...