Iran’s sports minister said that “under no circumstances” can his country’s men’s national soccer team participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Iran’s status in the tournament has been in question since the military conflict in the Middle East began with joint attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 that killed the country’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The U.S. will host the World Cup in June and July along with Mexico and Canada. At the tournament draw in December, Iran was scheduled for three matches on U.S. soil, with a possibility to play the U.S. men’s national team in the knockout round.
“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said Wednesday on state television.
Iran has retaliated with counterattacks that have hit several other countries participating in the World Cup this summer, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
“Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said. “Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence.”
Front Office Sports reported last week that a delegation from the Iranian football federation did not attend FIFA planning meetings in Atlanta.
FIFA and the Iranian federation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Late Tuesday night, FIFA president Gianni Infantino posted saying he met with U.S. President Donald Trump that evening to “discuss the status of preparations” for the World Cup. “During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote.
“We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World,” he said.
Trump last week said “I really don’t care” if Iran plays or not. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country,” he told Politico. “They’re running on fumes.”
The president of the Iranian soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, had said that “we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope” after the attacks, but the country and federation had not officially pulled out of the tournament.
Withdrawing from the tournament would result in a loss of at least $10.5 million for the federation—the amount that all participating teams get from FIFA—and facing FIFA fines of about $320,000. Importantly, the decision could also impact their standing for the 2030 World Cup, according to the AP.
Iran was set to face New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt in Group G. FIFA has not confirmed who would replace Iran, but the likeliest squad is Iraq, the next team up from the Asian Football Confederation. Iraq is currently scheduled to compete in one playoff game in Mexico at the end of the month to earn a spot in the World Cup, but asked FIFA to delay the game amid airspace and visa issues resulting from the war.
Trump had also shown support for the Iranian women’s team, several members of which defected to Australia amid threats at home. The president posted on his Truth Social platform that he spoke with Australia’s prime minister about offering the women asylum. “The U.S. will take them if you won’t,” he said in an earlier post.
