Iran will not participate in the men’s football World Cup, to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada between June and July this year. The announcement was made this Wednesday, March 11, by the Iranian minister of sports, Ahmad Donjamali.
“Considering that this corrupt regime assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” said Ahmad Donyamali, Iran’s minister of sports.
The Iranian national team qualified for the World Cup through the Asian qualifiers and was drawn into the same group as Egypt, Belgium, and New Zealand for the first phase of the tournament.
FIFA’s hypocrisy
Donald Trump, president of one of the host countries of the tournament, said in early March that he “didn’t care” if the Iranian national team participated in the World Cup.
The president of FIFA, the governing body of international football, Gianni Infantino, said via social media that Trump reiterated that Iran would be “welcome” at the championship.
“I met with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to discuss the progress of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the growing anticipation, with only 93 days to go until the start of the tournament,” said Infantino.
“We also discussed the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian national team has qualified to participate in the 2026 World Cup. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian national team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
“We all need an event like the World Cup to bring people together, now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as this demonstrates once again that football unites the world.”
FIFA’s stance contrasts with that adopted by the organization itself, which suspended Russia indefinitely after the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022. As a result, the team did not participate in the 2022 World Cup, Euro 2024, or the qualifiers for this year’s World Cup.
Aggressions against Iran
The unprovoked attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, considered illegal under international law and initiated on February 28, occurred amidst negotiations regarding the Iranian nuclear program.
Despite the West Asian country’s willingness to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and its commitment to using its nuclear program exclusively for peaceful purposes, Israel and the US – both nuclear powers – accuse Tehran of secretly seeking to build atomic weapons.
Tel Aviv also accuses Iran of being an “existential threat” to the country, but this accusation is refuted by analysts who argue that the Iranian government is currently weakened by the attacks of June 2025, the sanctions imposed by the US, internal US-backed protests, and the closure of the corridor to Lebanon after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
The overthrow of the government in Tehran has been a goal pursued by Washington and Tel Aviv since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, which replaced the Western vassal regime and instituted a nationalist theocratic government. In the first days of attacks, bombings killed Iranian leaders, including the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Read more: As US wages war for regime change, Iran affirms continuity
Iran, the world’s third-largest oil producer, closed the Strait of Hormuz after the start of the aggression, a channel through which the production of several Gulf countries flows. Approximately 30% of the world’s crude oil exports passes through this channel, raising fears of an international inflationary crisis. Another concern, raised by analysts, is that the conflict could spread to other countries in the region, with unpredictable consequences.
First published at Brasil de Fato.
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