Iran cannot take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after co-host United States launched airstrikes against the country along with Israel, killing its leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Sports Minister Ahmad Donjamali said on Wednesday.
Just a few hours after the FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that US President Donald Trump had guaranteed safe entry and the warm welcome of the Iranian national team, Tehran officially refused to participate.
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The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran nearly two weeks ago, killing the Islamic republic’s top leader, sparking a regional conflict in the Persian Gulf.
“Since this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, we cannot participate in the World Cup under any circumstances,” the minister told state television.
The 48-team World Championship will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
“Our children are not safe and basically there are no such conditions for participation,” Donyamali said.
“Because of the malicious actions they have taken against Iran, they have forced two wars on us within eight or nine months and killed and tortured thousands of our people. That is why we absolutely cannot have such a presence.”
According to Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, more than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since US and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28.
Earlier, FIFA President Infantino said he met with US President Donald Trump, who told him he welcomed Iran’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Trump has previously said “I really don’t care” whether Iran is in the World Cup or not, but Infantino said he had a productive discussion with the president.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is of course welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino said.
A source in Tehran familiar with the matter said the decision was not to participate in the World Cup, while the warm-up games were also not possible due to the war.
IRAN DRAWN TO PLAY IN LA AND SEATTLE
In the draw last December, the Iranians were grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. All three of their Group G matches were scheduled to take place in the US, with two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Iran, who dominated the Asian qualifying rounds to qualify for the tournament in March last year, were the only country absent from FIFA’s World Cup planning summit held in Atlanta last week.
Reuters has contacted the Iran Football Federation for comment, while FIFA did not immediately comment on compensation if Iran continues the boycott.
FIFA’s World Cup regulations state that any team that withdraws from the tournament “no later than 30 days before the first match” will be fined at least 250,000 Swiss francs ($320,800) by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
“Disciplinary sanctions may include the exclusion of the participating member association concerned from subsequent FIFA competitions and/or the replacement of the participating member association with another member association,” FIFA regulations say.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
11 March 2026 19:59 IST
