When the Iran team landed in Tijuana, Mexico on Sunday morning, players wore pin badges on their lapels that read ‘#168’.
The design, replicating an online hashtag, commemorates the number of children killed at an elementary school on the first day of the U.S.-Iran conflict — February 28, 2026 — according to the Iranian foreign ministry.
The New York Times, citing U.S. officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings, reported that an ongoing military investigation had determined the U.S. was responsible for the deadly missile strike. Neither President Donald Trump nor the U.S. government has confirmed that report.
The Iran team had departed their pre-World Cup training camp in Antalya, Turkey on Saturday afternoon but were not wearing the badges. During the journey, via a refuelling stop in Spain, the badges were then attached to the lapels of their dark blue jackets and were visible when they disembarked in Mexico before heading to their team hotel.
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