Iran's football federation on Saturday condemned the U.S. government for denying visas for some of its national team staff ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In a statement published on its website, the Iranian federation described the U.S. government's move as being "unsportsmanlike, completely political and in contradiction with international sports law."
It said Iran has definitely pursued the issue through FIFA, which is duty-bound as the responsible body to follow up on and finalize the issuance of the visas for the Iranian team's managerial, executive, technical and support staff members, "who are currently in camp and whom the national team urgently needs."
The Iranian federation added that through its "discriminatory and targeted" action against Iran's national football team, the host country created a "discriminatory and unequal environment, which constitutes political interference in sports in the worst possible way."
In a Friday post on social media platform X, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack confirmed the issuance of the visas for the members of Iran's national football team.
He said, "Proud of our outstanding team at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran's national football team on their road to the FIFA World Cup in the United States. Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world."
According to Iran's Varzesh3 sports news website, among those who did not receive visas are president of Iran's football federation Mehdi Taj, as well as Mehdi Kharati, the national team's executive director; Hedayat Mombini, the federation's secretary-general; and Mohsen Motamedkia, the team's media director.
Iran has been drawn in Group G for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19. The team is scheduled to open its campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by a match against Belgium at the same venue on June 21. Its final group match is set for June 26 against Egypt in Seattle.
Iran condemns U.S. for denying visas for national football team staff
Iran condemns U.S. for denying visas for national football team staff
Major breakthroughs by Chinese scientists have laid the foundation for a future where space-based solar power stations are capable of wirelessly transmitting energy to Earth and spacecraft, though significant engineering problems remain.
A research team from Xidian University in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has made significant progress on the Sun Chasing project, or "Zhuri" in Chinese. The team has developed a ground-based test system for wireless power transmission that can charge multiple moving targets at the same time.
In recent tests, the system achieved a wireless power transmission efficiency of 20.8 percent from direct current to direct current over a distance of 100 meters. It delivered 1,180 watts of power. The team has also built a wireless charging system for drones. In a test, a drone flying at 30 kilometers per hour was able to receive 143 watts of stable power from 30 meters away.
A space solar power station works exactly as its name suggests: a huge array of solar panels placed in orbit. It would collect sunlight in space, where the sun always shines, and then convert that energy into microwaves or lasers to beam down to Earth or directly to satellites and spacecraft. This could address two significant issues: supplying uninterrupted power for space missions and alleviating energy shortages on the ground.
"The construction of space solar power stations could become a major undertaking in the future. One potential benefit is access to a virtually unlimited power supply. Because energy can be collected continuously in space 24 hours a day, electricity could be supplied on an uninterrupted basis," said Fan Guanheng, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"Secondly, it could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, thereby lowering carbon emissions and helping protect the environment. Thirdly, it could support the development of charging infrastructure in space and enable wireless microwave charging for spacecraft, changing the way power is supplied to space vehicles," the professor added.
In 2018, the research team launched the first phase of the Sun Chasing project to build a ground test system. By June 2022, they had completed the world's first full-link, full-system ground validation system for a space solar power station. Now, the team has moved to phase two. The goal now is to solve the challenges of generating high power in space and transmitting it efficiently over long distances.
According to Duan Baoyan, an expert at Xidian University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, recent breakthroughs include improving the efficiency of solar energy collection and conversion, increasing the precision of microwave beam control to reduce energy loss, and making the transmitting and receiving antennas smaller and lighter, which is critical for space application.
The team has also solved the problem of how to power multiple moving targets at once using a single transmitter. This means that in the future, one space power station could potentially supply electricity to several satellites or ground vehicles at the same time, Duan said.
Despite the advances in ground-based validation, a series of technical challenges must still be overcome before the technology can be deployed in space.
"The first issue that needs to be addressed is the adaptability of components to the space environment, as conditions in space are completely different from those on Earth, including radiation exposure and extreme temperatures. Another challenge involves the deployment and retraction design of transmitting and receiving antennas. We also need to develop thermal management systems to cope with extreme temperatures and temperature fluctuations in space. These are all areas where further breakthroughs are needed," said Qian Sihao, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"We have now completed the development and validation of a ground-based test system, and our next step is to carry out in-orbit wireless microwave power transmission," Fan said.
With ground validation complete, the team now turns its attention to overcoming the harsh realities of space, aiming to demonstrate in-orbit wireless power transmission and bring the vision of orbital solar energy closer to reality.
Space-to-earth solar power moves closer to reality although hurdles remain: scientists
