Iran's national soccer squad reached the United States for the first time during this World Cup on Sunday, touching down at Los Angeles International Airport before holding a media session on the same day a peace agreement between the two countries was revealed.

The Iran players arrived following a brief journey from Tijuana, Mexico, where they had maintained their training base until receiving an enthusiastic farewell ahead of their opening match versus New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday.

"I am very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of Iran," Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei stated via an interpreter during the press conference at the venue.

"I hope that football will bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and countries."

The team's Group G encounter with New Zealand takes place against the setting of prior US-Iran conflict and the recently revealed peace agreement, creating an intense atmosphere for a matchup between sides that have never faced each other at a World Cup.

Iran relocated their World Cup training base from a sports facility in Arizona to Mexico late last month following joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February.

Iran must now travel from Mexico to the US for each of their three group stage matches, and Ghalenoei noted that the journeys along with visa refusals for certain federation members had impacted the squad.

The US-Iran agreement to conclude the conflict will be formalized at an official event on Friday in Switzerland, according to statements from US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on social media on Sunday.

'Bring an end to this regime'

As the squad traveled to LA, demonstrators advocating for democracy in Iran and opposing its leadership gathered near Los Angeles Stadium.

"No Shah, No Mullah in Iran, Regime Change by Iranians," read the signs. Images and posters of athletes whom protesters claimed had died following detention by Iranian authorities were displayed along a busy street in Inglewood.

The January suppression of demonstrations in Iran, which rights organizations and activists report resulted in thousands of deaths, stood out as especially distressing to Mojgan Ramezani, 56, an Iranian American present at the gathering.

"They're holding hostage their own people," said Ramezani.

Hassan Haddadi, 70, expressed frustration that most governments worldwide had offered limited support for change in Iran.

"We're hoping to bring awareness to the western world, to somehow do something beyond just condemning, to bring an end to this regime," said Haddadi.

Ghalenoei indicated that the team's players and coaches were "not political people."

"We are here to play football and represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or the Iranian diaspora."

'Mexico stands with you'

Earlier in Tijuana, backers lined five-deep along a crowded sidewalk outside Iran's hotel and chanted "Team Melli," the Persian term for national team, as the Iranian players exited the hotel and proceeded to the waiting bus.

Many players waved and smiled at the gathered supporters while some delegation members recorded the moment on their phones.

One backer displayed a yellow sign with black text stating: "Iran, you will never walk alone. Mexico stands with you."

A young boy on someone's shoulders held the official Panini FIFA World Cup 2026 sticker album open to the Iran team page.

At one moment the crowd sang in Spanish, "Iran, brother, you are Mexican now."

Iranian soccer federation President Mehdi Taj stood outside the hotel as the players departed, with many supporters trailing the bus down the street.

The Iranian community in Tijuana numbers around 20 people and is far smaller than that in Los Angeles, which hosts the largest Iranian population outside Iran.

Tens of thousands of Iranian Americans reside in Los Angeles, where a notable diaspora often called "Tehrangeles" has developed.

This marks the first World Cup since its start in 1930 in which a host nation has hosted a country with which it is at war.