The Participation of Iran in the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been thrown into doubt after the country’s sports minister said the national team cannot take part in the tournament due to escalating conflict involving the United States and Israel.
Iran had already secured qualification for the expanded 48-team tournament scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. However, authorities in Tehran say the current political and security situation makes involvement in the competition impossible.
Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali made the country’s position clear during a televised interview while addressing the impact of recent military developments in the region.
“Since this corrupt government assassinated our leader, we have no conditions under which we can participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali said.
The remarks followed reports that joint military strikes by the United States and Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an incident that has triggered a broader regional conflict.
Donyamali argued that the scale of the crisis and the loss of lives in recent months have left the country unable to consider sporting participation abroad.
“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,” he said.
Iran had been drawn into a group alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, with all of its group-stage matches scheduled to take place in the United States, including games in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Meanwhile, FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier said he had received assurances from U.S. President Donald Trump that Iran’s national team would be welcome to compete despite rising geopolitical tensions.
Infantino has also stressed that the World Cup should serve as a platform for unity among nations during difficult times.
With Iran now indicating it cannot participate, uncertainty remains over whether the decision will become official and which country could potentially take its place in the tournament lineup.
