Iran Refuses to Participate in 2026 FIFA World Cup After US-Israel Strikes
Iran will not take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup following US-Israeli airstrikes that killed the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.
The announcement came just hours after Gianni Infantino revealed that US President Donald Trump had assured him that Iran’s national team would be granted safe entry and a warm welcome at the tournament.
The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran nearly two weeks ago, triggering a wider conflict in the Gulf and killing Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s long-time leader. “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali said in an interview with state television.
The expanded 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held across United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19. “Our children are not safe and fundamentally the conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said, adding that recent military actions had forced Iran into multiple conflicts and caused heavy civilian casualties.
According to Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, more than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since the airstrikes began on February 28. Earlier, Infantino said he had discussed Iran’s participation with Trump, who indicated that the Iranian team would still be welcomed at the tournament in the United States.
“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. However, a source in Tehran familiar with the matter said Iran had already decided not to attend the World Cup and would also be unable to play warm-up matches because of the ongoing war.
Iran Drawn in Group G
In the draw held last December, Iran were placed in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand. All three of Iran’s group matches were scheduled to take place in the United States — two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Iran, who dominated the Asian qualifying rounds and secured their place at the tournament last year, was the only nation absent from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta.
Reuters has contacted the Iranian Football Federation for comment, while FIFA has not yet commented on a potential replacement if Iran formally withdraws. Under FIFA regulations, any team that withdraws from the World Cup “no later than 30 days before the first match” faces a minimum fine of 250,000 Swiss francs (about $320,800).
The governing body also reserves the right to impose additional sanctions, including expelling the national federation from future competitions or replacing the team with another member association.
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