«La tensión política ha empañado la alegría del Mundial», afirma el delantero iraní

Mehdi Taremi has been capped 105 times and was part of the Iran squad at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups

Rarely has a team arrived at a World Cup carrying as much political baggage as Iran.

Until this week, the host nation, the United States, had been at war with the country.

The team has faced visa problems. They have had to relocate their base camp. And when they take to the pitch here in Los Angeles on Monday (Tuesday, 02:00 BST), they will do so under the gaze of one of the world's largest Iranian diasporas.

An agreement to halt hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was announced on…