Top News

8 June 2026

Iran’s national football team, participating in the World Cup, arrived in Mexico over the weekend wearing lapel pins marked with the number “168” to pay tribute to the victims of a devastating missile strike on a primary school that occurred at the onset of the war involving the United States and Israel.

The players, who landed in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday, wore the gold-toned pins on their jackets. The number “168” represents the total number of people, mostly children, who lost their lives in the February 28 attack on a school in Minab, located in southern Iran. The strike has been widely attributed to the U.S.

Iran’s embassy in Hungary acknowledged the symbolic pins in a social media post on Monday, directly referring to the Minab tragedy.

The Iranian squad travelled by private jet from Antalya to Tijuana on Saturday after a late decision two weeks earlier to shift their training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Mexico.

This act of remembrance follows a similar gesture made by the team in March before a friendly match in Antalya, Turkey. During that earlier tribute, players carried pink and purple school bags during the playing of their national anthem to highlight the same tragic incident.

The missile strike, which reportedly hit an area near a base belonging to the Revolutionary Guard, has been strongly condemned by the United Nations and multiple human rights groups.

Neither the United States nor Israel has taken responsibility for the attack. The U.S. military has stated that it is investigating the matter and reiterated that it would never deliberately target civilian areas.

Iran’s delegation, which opted for Tijuana as its training base, made the trip from Antalya by private jet on Saturday following those revised plans.

Supporters of the Iranian team were seen waving flags as the players arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday, 7 June 2026.

The team’s preparations for their three group-stage fixtures in the United States have been hindered by visa delays from American authorities. Reports suggest that some individuals in the delegation with connections to the Revolutionary Guard have been refused entry.

With their opening match against New Zealand scheduled for 15 June in Inglewood, near Los Angeles, uncertainty still surrounds the team’s ability to enter the U.S. The squad is expected to return to Tijuana between matches before facing Belgium on 21 June in Inglewood and Egypt on 26 June in Seattle.

If both Iran and the United States finish second in their respective groups, the two teams could face each other in the round of 32 on 3 July at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas.