No one can exclude us from World Cup: Iran soccer team to Trump

Iran’s national football team has pushed back against comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting it may not be appropriate for the country to compete in the 2026 World Cup, declaring that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament.

In a statement posted on the team’s official Instagram account on Thursday, the squad stressed that the World Cup is governed by FIFA and cannot be decided by any individual leader or host nation.

“The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA — not any individual, country,” the post said. “Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup.”

The message also contained a pointed response to Trump’s remarks about the safety of Iranian players during the tournament, suggesting that the only team that could face exclusion would be a host country unable to guarantee security for participating sides.

Trump had earlier written on social media that while Iran’s team was “welcome” at the tournament, he believed “it is not appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety”.

The United States will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico, and Iran is scheduled to play all three of its group-stage matches in the US — against New Zealand in Inglewood, California on June 15, Belgium on June 21, and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran, ranked 20th in the world by FIFA, has qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup.

The team’s response comes amid growing uncertainty over whether Iran will ultimately participate because of the intensifying regional war. Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said earlier this week that current conditions meant it may not be possible for the national team to take part.

Trump himself has issued mixed messages. Last week he said he “really didn’t care” whether Iran played, before later assuring FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the White House that the Iranian team would be allowed to participate.

Iran’s football federation has already planned a base camp at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, while Iranian football officials are expected to attend FIFA’s annual congress in Vancouver on April 30 after missing preparatory meetings in Atlanta last week.

The sporting dispute is unfolding against the backdrop of a rapidly expanding regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

Iran launched waves of drones early Friday toward several Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, after the country’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned that nations hosting American military bases could become targets. Saudi authorities said they intercepted nearly 50 drones.

In Oman, two people were killed when drones crashed in an industrial zone in Sohar. Sirens also sounded in Bahrain, while in Dubai debris from an intercepted projectile sparked a fire in an industrial area and damaged part of the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Israel said its air force had struck more than 200 targets across Iran over the previous 24 hours, including missile launchers, air defence systems and weapons facilities. The strikes came as rallies were due to begin in Tehran for the annual Quds Day demonstrations in support of Palestinians.

The war began after US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 and the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since threatened to maintain pressure on global energy supplies by targeting shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows.

Brent crude prices have remained above $100 per barrel amid fears of prolonged disruption.

The conflict has also spread into neighbouring countries. In Iraq, recovery operations were underway after a US KC-135 refuelling aircraft crashed, while French President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier had been killed in an attack in the Kurdish region of Erbil.

Meanwhile, fighting between Israel and Iran-aligned groups has intensified. Hezbollah fired multiple rocket barrages into northern Israel, injuring nearly 60 people, while Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed several individuals, including a Hezbollah-linked figure and members of a family in eastern Lebanon.

According to official figures released during the conflict, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, over 600 in Lebanon and at least 12 in Israel, while the United States has reported seven soldiers killed and several others seriously injured.

Trump struck an aggressive tone in comments posted Friday, writing: “Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”

He also claimed that US forces were “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise,” adding that Iran’s navy and air force were being decimated.

Against this backdrop, Iran’s national football team has signalled it still intends to participate in the World Cup, insisting that global sporting competitions cannot be dictated by geopolitical tensions.