Political bad blood between U.S. and Iran dominates run-up to World Cup showdown

The politics of anti-regime protests are dominating the run-up to a World Cup showdown between the U.S. and Iran, with coaches and players fielding politically charged questions before Tuesday’s match.

Given the long-running hostility between Washington and Tehran, any sporting contest between the two countries carries political overtones. But the recent wave of street protests in Iran has injected a particularly heavy dose of politics, especially after the U.S. Soccer Federation tweeted an altered Iranian flag, one without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, to show solidarity with Iranian women demonstrating against the government.

Iran responded...