Iran has said it will not participate ‘under any circumstances’ after the US-Israeli strike that killed its supreme leader.
Published on 11 March 2026
Iran will not be able to participate in the FIFA World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s sports minister Ahmed Donyamali said.
“Considering that this corrupt regime (US) has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television on Wednesday.
The US will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, while all of Iran’s group-stage matches will be allocated to American cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.
“Our children are not safe and basically, such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said.
“Given the malicious actions they have taken against Iran, they have forced two wars on us in eight or nine months and killed and martyred thousands of our people. So, we certainly cannot have such a presence.”
It was the first time an Iranian government official spoke about the country’s participation in the global tournament since the US and Israel launched attacks on the nation on February 28.
The head of the Iran Football Federation expressed doubts about his team’s participation last week, but did not say the team would boycott the tournament.
“After this attack (on Iran), we cannot expect to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj said on March 1.
“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like that?” Taj asked on Iranian state television.
Iran is the first country to qualify for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.
(tags to translate)news
