Iran says it will play at 2026 World Cup if hosts address ‘concerns’
Key takeaways
- Iran’s presence at the tournament has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US and Israel launched a war on the country in February.
- Iran’s presence at the tournament, which will take place between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US and Israel launched a war on the Middle East country in February.
- “We will definitely participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts must take our concerns into account,” the Iranian federation said on its official website.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Iran’s presence at the tournament has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US and Israel launched a war on the country in February.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Iran's Mehdi Taremi trains with teammates in Antalya, Turkiye, in March [Umit Bektas/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 9 May 20269 May 2026Iran’s football federation has said the men’s national team will take part in the 2026 World Cup that begins in June, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the Middle East war.
The call on Saturday comes after Canada refused entry to the federation’s chief last month before the FIFA Congress because of his alleged links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran’s military, which it designated as a “terrorist group” in 2024.