Iran’s football team paused training in southern Turkey on Thursday to pursue travel visas for the United States and Canada ahead of next month’s Fifa World Cup, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

The step signals Iran’s intention to take part in the tournament, which begins on June 11, coinciding with efforts to end hostilities with the US, one of the World Cup co-hosts, with Canada and Mexico.

Iran are due to play all three of their group-stage matches in the US. They are scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles before taking on Egypt in ⁠Seattle five days later.

They would require access to Canada if they progress to the knockout ‌rounds. The whole squad attended appointments for Canadian visas, while some players who had not applied for US visas before the Iran war also ‌submitted applications in Ankara, an Iranian football federation official said.

Some foreign-based Iranian players ⁠joined the squad ⁠in Ankara before later travelling to the team’s training camp in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, the official said.

A handful of team members visited the consular section of the US embassy in Ankara. One player smiled when asked whether his visa application had been successful, Anadolu reported. Most of the team applied for Canadian visas through an application centre, the agency said.