Tehran :

Mehdi Taremi, who was stranded in Turkey for days after his flight to Tehran via Istanbul was diverted due to a severe snowstorm in Istanbul airport, finally landed in Tehran early morning Thursday.

The Iranian  Porto striker underwent the PCR test and the result returned negative after arriving in Iran and hence Taremi is available for selection for the match against Iraq.

Due to fatigue and other issues, Dragan Skocic, might very well opt to use Taremi as a substitute rather than in the starting lineup. The technical staff, due to the absence of many of their players, made a great effort to ensure the availability of Mehdi Taremi for this match.

Team Melli will still be deprived of 3 key players, Azmoun, Nourollahi, and Hajsafi.