Iran is accusing U.S. officials of denying visas to key staffers on its national soccer team ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on North American soil next week.

It’s the latest diplomatic standoff between the two countries, who have been at war since the U.S. and Israel first launched missiles at Iran in late February. The two sides are yet to agree to a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and sufficiently curtail Tehran’s nuclear program in the eyes of President Donald Trump, reportedly hung up over whether an agreement would unlock billions of dollars in funds for Iran.

And now, just days before Iran’s soccer team gets set to take on New Zealand’s on June 15 in Los Angeles, the country’s embassy in Turkey is accusing the Americans of “the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”

“By extending your whimsical hostilities against the Iranian nation into the realm of sport, the U.S. government in practice is depriving Iran’s national team of its right to play in the World Cup under normal conditions and without undue pressure and stress,” the embassy wrote on X.

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