Iran vs. Belgium: In LA’s ‘Tehrangeles,’ the World Cup is weighing heavily on the runaways

Iran will compete in its second match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles this afternoon against Belgium, just days after the Iranian and American governments. signed the agreement to end months of war.

The Melli team — “national team” in Persian Farsi — played their first game of the tournament against New Zealand on Monday. Hundreds protested outside SoFi Stadium in LA that day, underscoring how close the game was to the political turmoil at home.

“I don’t think there was ever a political charge,” Amir Ohebsion said days after Iran opened the 2026 World Cup. He left Iran for Los Angeles as a boy just before the 1979 revolution.

“It’s much stronger now because of the war with Iran.”

This is first of all in the history of the World Cup that the host country has been fighting against the qualifying nation. After the first game, the players were released in the US and return to their training base in Mexico, despite planning to spend the night in California to recover. Their coach called the team “probably the most under pressure in the World Cup.”

FIFA has it prohibited pre-revolution flag and related clothing in World Cup stadiums, but Ohebsion estimates hundreds of people snuck into Monday’s game anyway.

All eyes around the world are on the World Cup and the war, and there’s a lot to digest for the estimated 230,000 Iranians living in and around LA.

In the days between the two shows, many members of the Iranian diaspora gathered to demonstrate in the West LA neighborhood of Westwood, better known as “Tehrangeles.”

The generation gap in Tehrangeles

Tehrangeles is located about 15 kilometers from SoFi Stadium, in the western part of the city.

It is LA’s Iranian center, home to dozens of Persian-owned businesses, many of which are marked with signs in English and Farsi. Some shops have a lion and sun flag hanging overhead, which was the provincial flag before the Islamic Revolution and is now widely seen as a symbol of resistance to the regime.

Tehrangeles, also known as Little Iran or Little Persia, is quiet. But there are some pockets in the area where Iranians gather for food and tea.

This week, the World Cup is the center of many discussions, and the public is divided on whether it cheers for or against Team Melli.

Some see this group as an arm of the state, which it has done it killed thousands to the dissidents since the Islamic Revolution. Some separate this sport from politics and are proud to see their country’s name in the world. There are also some supporters of the regime, who show SoFi with flags of the Islamic Republic.

Wearing a “Free Iran” T-shirt, Ohebsion helps his elderly father set up a corner table at the Starbucks on Westwood Boulevard for their weekly hangout, this time accompanied by Ohebsion’s son Cypress.

Ohebsion said he was reluctant to attend Monday’s game because of the political turmoil at home, but he couldn’t turn down his uncle’s free ticket.

“I just looked at it as a moment in history, where it’s interesting to be a part of it. I had mixed feelings, but I don’t regret going,” said the well-known screenplay writer of the film. Jimmy Vestvood: American hero.

Ohebsion has lived in Los Angeles for 48 years. He said his family had no intention of planting permanent roots in the US – they came to escape the riots for a while until it calmed down.

But the situation escalated. They never went back. Ohebsion no longer has family back home, but he has fond memories of Iran and still cares deeply about the country he grew up in.

He said that means he sees the World Cup differently than 21-year-old Cypress, who was born in LA.

Cypress watched Monday’s game at a friend’s house. The UCLA student said the politics behind the game have been a big topic in LA, given the large Iranian population.

But as soon as Team Melli entered the field, Cypress was only focused on sports.

“It was just like watching a regular game,” Cypress said. “Being Persian, I felt like I wanted to find my own team.”

Boycott games

Not all Iranians in LA pay attention to the World Cup. Some people in Tehrangeles told CBC that they don’t care about sports and therefore won’t listen to any sports, no matter how they feel about the war with the regime.

Then there are those who refuse to watch the games in peace.

Roozbeh Farahanipour, a local celebrity, is one of those people. He said he escaped the death penalty in Iran after helping to lead student riots in 1999 and settled in LA as a political refugee. He met his wife in Tehran, and they now have an eight-year-old son, Damavand, named after a famous mountain in Iran.

Farahanipour owns two restaurants in the area — Mary & Robb’s Westwood Cafe and Delphi Greek — and is CEO of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m not going to watch. I can’t stand seeing the flag of the Islamic Republic. I can’t stand the national anthem,” Farahanipour said.

“I am not against the players, the athletes. I think that, individually, they are good…. But if they have state jerseys and the flag in their uniforms, I am not their fan. End of story.”

The pressure of representation

Another researcher from the Iranian diaspora says that the pressure is high for this World Cup, not only for the Iranian national team that has never passed the group stage.

Amy Malek, a professor of anthropology and American studies at the College of William and Mary in Virginia, said it’s also a huge pressure on those leaving Iran.

His book, Culture Beyond Country: Strategies of Inclusion in the Global Iranian Diaspora, explores Iranian communities in LA, Toronto and Stockholm.

“As diasporic communities, we always think about how we are represented in the communities we live in, to each other, to our loved ones in Iran,” said Malek.

“At this rate, if the world is watching, what message do we want to send? What representation do we want to have?

“That message is not always the same.”