Iran’s football team has broken silence on participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the United States.
According to Express, the president of the Iranian Football Federation has said that the team are currently ‘unlikely’ to feature in the 2026 World Cup.
Iran was thrust into a war with the United States over the weekend when Donald Trump sanctioned a bombing campaign on the Middle Eastern nation.
The airstrikes killed the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with violence having escalated in the region as a result. Iran responded to the attack with retaliatory strikes on US bases within Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Israel.
Mehdi Taj, president of the IFA, is reported by Marca as saying, “With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the cup. But the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that.”
Meanwhile, when asked about the situation, FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said, “I read the news the same way as you did this morning. We had a meeting and it’s a bit premature to comment on it in detail. But, of course, we will monitor developments.
The tournament is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States, and Iran have been scheduled to play all three of their group matches in the latter.
Iranian nationals are already banned from travelling to the United States under Trump’s travel ban, which restricted immigrant and temporary visas. But bigwigs at FIFA might be left with an even bigger problem on their hands, given that talk about Iran boycotting the tournament has intensified.
Iran have been drawn into a group with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt, with their first match scheduled for June 16.
