President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran's national soccer team would be permitted to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup but also stated that he does not believe the team should attend because of security concerns tied to the widening conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Trump's statement came only days after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he had been assured that Iran would be welcome at the tournament, underscoring the uncertainty now surrounding one of the World Cup's 48 qualified teams as geopolitical tensions spill into international sports.
Iran already has a place in the 2026 field after qualifying through Asia in March 2025, and the team was drawn into Group G with Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand, with group-stage games scheduled for June 15 and June 21 in Inglewood, California, and June 26 in Seattle.
The tournament is set to run from June 11 through July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the final slated for East Rutherford, New Jersey, making the issue particularly sensitive because all three of Iran's current group matches are on U.S. soil.
Questions about Iran's participation intensified this week after Iranian sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said on state television that Iran would not play in the World Cup, though FIFA has not announced that Iran has formally withdrawn, and no replacement team has been named.
That leaves FIFA facing a rapidly evolving problem as it prepares for the biggest World Cup in history. A late withdrawal by Iran would force world soccer's governing body to determine how to fill the vacancy in a tournament bracket that has already been drawn.
The dispute is also colliding with Trump administration immigration policy because a White House proclamation issued in June 2025 suspended entry for Iranian nationals while specifically exempting athletes, coaches, support staff, and immediate relatives traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event designated by the secretary of state.
FIFA security evaluations have assessed World Cup planning as low risk, even as concern has grown over possible unrest connected to the war and over how Iranian players could be received in American cities with large Iranian diaspora communities and active opposition groups.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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