Mexican authorities investigate body found near Iran World Cup camp in Tijuana

Mexican authorities are investigating how a body ended up in a gray Toyota SUV parked across from Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, where Iran’s national soccer team is training for the World Cup. Police opened the vehicle on Friday, June 12, after noticing a strong smell, and found the remains inside a bag in the trunk.

Forensic workers in white protective suits examined the vehicle at the scene before the body was removed, a stark image in a border city now under international scrutiny because of the tournament. Officials said the body showed signs of violence and was in an advanced state of decomposition. Later reporting identified the vehicle as a gray Toyota SUV with California plates parked near a supermarket directly opposite the stadium.

The Tijuana prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation to identify the victim and determine the circumstances of the crime. Authorities did not immediately say whether the case had any connection to Iran’s training camp, and there was no immediate response from Iran’s team about security arrangements.

The discovery lands just days before Iran is set to open its Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 16, with three World Cup matches scheduled in the United States. Iran relocated its base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana in late May after FIFA approved the change, citing security concerns tied to war in the Middle East and visa issues affecting Iranian officials and staff.

That move was meant to give Iran a workable preparation base closer to its tournament itinerary. Instead, the scene outside Estadio Caliente has thrown the practical limits of that plan into sharp relief, placing the team’s training site beside a homicide investigation in one of the busiest transit zones along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The case now sits at the intersection of two realities: the World Cup’s promise of controlled, high-profile staging and the stubborn public-security problems that continue to shape life in Tijuana. With the tournament opening days away, Mexican investigators are left to determine who the victim was, how the body got there, and what the discovery says about safety around a venue now tied to one of soccer’s biggest stages.