In his latest update, President Donald Trump seemed to indicate that a deal between the two sides will soon be reached.
"We're very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal," Trump recently said. "If we go and bomb, which we can do very easily if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they'll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won't have the [Strait of Hormuz] open for months."
But as the conflict has stretched weeks beyond what Trump originally planned, many remain skeptical about the odds of an impending deal.
Meanwhile, the U.S is gearing up to host the World Cup, the world's most viewed international sporting event, which includes the Iranian national soccer team.
Participating federations are given 8% of the stadium capacity for each of their scheduled World Cup games to allocate to their fanbases. But just days before Iran opens in Inglewood, California, the Iranian soccer federation claims that FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has revoked their ticket allocation for the fans at the team's three group stage games in the United States.
This comes after Iran had to move their base camp from the tournament out of the U.S. and into Mexico.
FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, oversees and regulates major international competitions, which means it has total authority over ticketing operations at the World Cup. The Iranian soccer body has suggested, however, that "the United States has now taken steps to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums."
"This incident raises serious questions about the influence of non-sporting and political considerations on the organization of the world's biggest football event," the Iranian soccer federation said.
FIFA said in a statement Tuesday it is "working closely with the Iran Football Federation to identify compliant solutions that maximize opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches."
Iran, appearing in its seventh World Cup, plays June 15 and June 21 in Inglewood and June 26 in Seattle.
The U.S played Iran in the last World Cup in 2022, winning 1-0, but they are not scheduled to face off on the pitch this time unless both teams finish second in their groups.
