Iran pulls out of 2026 FIFA World Cup despite Trump welcome

Iran has ruled out participation in the FIFA World Cup 2026 after the U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly told officials that Iran was welcome to play the Cup in the United States (U.S.) amid ognoing war with the Islamic Republic.

According to CBS News, President Trump met with FIFA Chief Gianni Infantino and the White House FIFA task force executive director Andrew Giuliani, on Tuesday, to discuss the situation regarding World Cup that arose after the U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes on Iran.

The military campaign dubbed Operation Epic Fury by the U.S. and Operation Roaring Lion by Israel has resulted in killing of over 1,000 Iranian residents, including the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Following his meeting with the U.S. president, Infantino took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever."

However, Iran's sports minister immediately hit back, annoucing Iran's withdrawal from the football tournament.

He said: "Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup."

It remains unclear if any other team would replace Iran in the tournament or the teams scheduled to play Iran will get rollover points.

This comes after Donald Trump reportedly offered asylum to Iran’s women’s football team, which was in Australia for the AFC Women's Asian Cup.