Iran said it would not participate “under any circumstances” following the U.S. and Israeli attack that killed its supreme leader.
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Published March 11, 2026
Iran can no longer participate in the FIFA World Cup because the United States killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the country’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said.
“Under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup, given that this corrupt regime (USA) assassinated our leader,” the minister said on state television on Wednesday.
The United States will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, but all of Iran’s group stage matches will be allocated to U.S. cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle.
The war between the United States and Israel against Iran, which began on February 28, has left 1,255 people dead and more than 12,000 injured in the first 12 days of the war.
The Iranian government responded by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel, several military bases in the Middle East where U.S. forces operate, and regional infrastructure.
“Our children are not safe and basically those conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said.
“Given the malicious acts they have committed against Iran, they forced us into two wars over eight to nine months and killed and martyred thousands of our citizens. So we certainly cannot sustain such an existence.”
This is the first time an Iranian government official has spoken out about the country’s participation in the world championships since the United States and Israel launched attacks on the country on February 28.
The president of Iran’s Football Federation last week questioned the team’s participation, but did not explicitly say the team would boycott the tournament.
Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), said on March 1: “After this attack (on Iran), we cannot expect to approach the World Cup with high hopes.”
“If the World Cup was like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Taj asked on Iranian state television.
Earlier, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Iran’s participation in the World Cup was welcomed by US President Donald Trump and that he would meet with Trump to discuss the next tournament amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Infantino said Wednesday that Trump “reiterated that he welcomes the Iranian team” to the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July.
Infantino, head of the international soccer governing body, wrote on Instagram that during a meeting to discuss preparations for the tournament, “we also discussed the current situation in Iran.”
“During the talks, President Trump reiterated that Iranian teams are of course welcome to compete in tournaments in the United States,” he wrote.
Iran became the first country to qualify for the World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19.
