Iran appears set to skip this summer’s FIFA World Cup amidst its ongoing war with tournament co-host U.S.
Iranian sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said during an appearance on state TV that the nation will not participate following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in strikes carried out by the United States.
Donyamali states that the men’s national team will not take part in the global soccer tournament under the current circumstances.
“Considering that this corrupt regime (the US) has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali told Iranian state TV, per Reuters.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, was killed on Feb. 28, on the first day of attacks by the U.S.
Iran had been the first country to officially qualify for the 2026 edition of the tournament, which will take place starting June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran had been drawn into Group G along with Belgium, New Zealand and Egpyt, with two of its matches taking place in Los Angeles and the third being hosted in Seattle.
Infantino met with Trump hours before statement
Just hours before Donyamali’s statement, Infantino said that he had met with Trump – whom FIFA awarded its first ever Peace Prize to during the tournament draw in Decemebaer — to discuss preparations for this summer’s tournament, including the “current situation with Iran.”
“This evening, I met with the President of the 🇺🇸 United States, Donald J. Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days,” Infantino posted on Instagram, along with a picture of the World Cup trophy outside of the White House.
“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.
“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.”
Last week, Trump told Politico that he didn’t care if Iran plays in the World Cup.
“I really don’t care,” Trump told the outlet on March 3. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”
Who could replace Iran in the World Cup?
Should Iran officially withdraw from the World Cup, it would open up a spot in soccer’s biggest international tournament.
While FIFA has yet to comment on such a scenario, early speculation is that Iran could be replaced by another team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Two potential options would be the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. While UAE had already been eliminated from contention, Iraq is set to compete in an inter-confederation play-off in Mexico for a potential spot later this month. Iraq will take on the winner of Bolivia vs. Suriname for a place in Group I.
Should Iraq lose, it could receive Iran’s berth in Group G, otherwise UAE would be the next highest-ranked AFC team.
Another potential option for FIFA would be replacing Iran with the overall highest-ranked team that didn’t qualify for the tournament: Italy.
However, Italy is set to compete in UEFA playoffs for a potential spot in Group B and face Canada in its opening game in Toronto.