March 11 (Reuters) – Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the U.S. launched airstrikes alongside Israel, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.
The attacks killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered a region-wide conflict.
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“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television.
The 48-team World Cup will be held in the U.S., Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
“Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said.
“Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence.”
More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28, according to Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani.
IRAN DRAWN TO PLAY IN LA AND SEATTLE
Iran are grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.
All three of their Group G matches are scheduled to take place in the U.S., two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Iran, who dominated the Asian qualifying rounds to qualify for the tournament in March last year, was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian Football Federation or world soccer’s governing body FIFA.
FIFA regulations state that any team that withdraws from the tournament “no later than 30 days before the first match” will be fined at least 250,000 Swiss francs ($320,800).
