Iran will not participate in this summer’s FIFA World Cup, the country’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali has declared, citing the United States-Israeli attacks that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the reason the country cannot travel to America for the tournament.
Donyamali made the announcement in a television interview, ruling out any possibility of the Iranian national team competing in the showpiece event scheduled across the United States, Canada, and Mexico in June and July.
“Since this corrupt government assassinated our leader, we have no conditions under which we can participate in the World Cup,” he said, adding that the scale of destruction inflicted on Iran made participation inconceivable.
“In view of the malicious measures taken against Iran, two wars were forced upon us within eight or nine months, and several thousand of our people were killed. Therefore, we definitely have no possibility of participating in this way,” Donyamali stated.
Iran had been scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21 respectively, before taking on Egypt in Seattle on June 26 in the group stage of the tournament.
The declaration comes despite assurances from FIFA President Gianni Infantino that US President Donald Trump had personally guaranteed the Iranian team’s welcome at the tournament.
Infantino, in a statement posted to Instagram, said the matter was raised directly with Trump.
“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,” Infantino wrote, adding that Trump “reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
Infantino also struck a conciliatory tone, saying the World Cup was needed now more than ever as a unifying force. “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever,” he said.
Iran’s withdrawal threat adds a significant geopolitical dimension to a tournament already unfolding against the backdrop of a widening Middle East conflict, with Iran having retaliated against US military bases in the region following the strikes that killed Khamenei.
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