Iran has announced it will not take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup following airstrikes carried out by the United States and Israel that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and triggered a wider regional conflict.
Iranian Sports Minister, Ahmad Donyamali, said the country cannot participate in the tournament under the current circumstances, stressing that safety concerns and the ongoing conflict make participation impossible. The development has sparked global attention, with the Iran World Cup withdrawal raising questions about the tournament lineup.
“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup. Our children are not safe and fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” the minister said during an interview on state television.
Donyamali added that the attacks had forced Iran into repeated conflicts over the past months, leading to thousands of casualties.
“Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence,” he said.
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Iran had earlier been drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. All three of their matches were scheduled to be played in the United States, with two fixtures in Los Angeles and another in Seattle.
The team had qualified for the expanded 48-nation tournament after dominating the Asian qualifying rounds last year. However, Iran was notably absent from a FIFA planning summit for participating nations held recently in Atlanta, further fueling speculation about the Iran World Cup withdrawal.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
With the Iran World Cup withdrawal now confirmed by the country’s sports authorities, attention has turned to FIFA and whether another nation could replace Iran in the competition.