The Iran national soccer team competed in its first match at the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles – after months of uncertainty over whether they’d play amid the US war on Iran. It's the first time in the tournament’s history that a host nation has gone to war with a participating nation. In our final installment of our World Cup series, LAist reporter Libby Rainey looks at the Iranian team’s precarious path to LA, the role politics has played in the largest and longest World Cup in FIFA history, and the issues the team and LA's large Iranian diaspora continues to navigate.

Check out more of Libby’s reporting and LAist’s World Cup guide at LAist.com/WorldCup

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Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

The Iran national soccer team competed in its first match at the 2026 World Cup in Los Angeles &ndash; after months of uncertainty over whether they&rsquo;d play amid the US war on Iran. It's the first time in the tournament&rsquo;s history that a host nation has gone to war with a participating nation. In our final installment of our World Cup series, LAist reporter Libby Rainey looks at the Iranian team&rsquo;s precarious path to LA, the role politics has played in the largest and longest World Cup in FIFA history, and the issues the team and LA's large Iranian diaspora continues to navigate.
Check out more of Libby&rsquo;s reporting and LAist&rsquo;s World Cup guide at <a href="http://laist.com/WorldCup">LAist.com/WorldCup</a>
Grow your business&ndash;no matter what stage you&rsquo;re in. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at <a href="http://shopify.com/paradise">SHOPIFY.COM/paradise</a>
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Imperfect Paradise is LAist's weekly on-demand news magazine show that pulls back the curtain and dives deeper into the biggest and most consequential SoCal stories of the week from our newsroom. New episodes drop every Friday.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.

Imperfect Paradise is LAist's weekly on-demand news magazine show that pulls back the curtain and dives deeper into the biggest and most consequential SoCal stories of the week from our newsroom. New episodes drop every Friday.
Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live.