Iran signals World Cup withdrawal amid war and tensions with United States

Iran's sports minister Ahmad Donyamali has indicated that the country's men's national football team will not take part in this summer's FIFA World Cup in the United States, citing the ongoing war in the Middle East. Speaking in a television interview with German news agency DPA, Donyamali said the current circumstances made participation impossible following recent military strikes against Iran. Airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel since 28 February have targeted several locations in Iran. Iranian authorities say the attacks resulted in the death of the country's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. "Since this corrupt government murdered our leader, we do not have the conditions to participate in the World Cup," Donyamali said. He added that the country had been forced into two conflicts within the space of less than a year, with thousands of Iranian citizens killed. "Because of the malicious measures taken against Iran, we were forced to fight two wars in eight or nine months. Therefore, we have no possibility of participating under these circumstances," he said. Iran had qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026, which will take place between 11 June and 18 July in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The Iranian national team is scheduled to play its three group-stage matches against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in the United States, with the first two games set for Inglewood, California, and the third in Seattle. The possibility of a boycott has also been raised by the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj. Taj referred to tensions following an incident at the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia, where six Iranian women's national team players chose to remain in the country after being granted humanitarian visas. According to Taj, the visas were offered after comments by US president Donald Trump, who said he would provide such visas if Australia did not. "What sensible person would send their national team to the United States if the World Cup were as political as it was in Australia?" Taj said. Meanwhile, Gianni Infantino , president of FIFA, wrote on Instagram that Trump had told him during a meeting on Tuesday that Iran's team would be welcome to participate in the tournament in the United States despite the ongoing conflict.
2026-03-11 13:18:00