Iranian sports minister: We cannot go to World Cup

Iran's sports and youth minister said it's "not possible" for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.

Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country's soccer team players are not safe in the U.S., according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.

"Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran -- they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people -- definitely it's not possible for us to take part in the World Cup," he said.

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Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

However, their participation was thrown into doubt after the U.S. and Israel began launching airstrikes on Feb. 28.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino had posted on social media overnight that U.S. President Donald Trump had assured him that Iran would be "welcome" to compete.

Trump said earlier this month he "really didn't care" if Iran played at the World Cup, but Infantino insisted Trump was supportive of the team being involved after a meeting between the two men.

"This evening, I met with the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days," Infantino posted.

"We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.

"We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World."

A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, confirmed Trump's message to Infantino about Iran's participation, The Associated Press reported.

However, Iranian officials had already begun to express doubts over whether their team should go to the World Cup.

"What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope," Iran's top soccer official Mehdi Taj, a vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, said last week.

FIFA's rules around what would happen if Iran were to withdraw are vague, but it is possible that one of Iraq or the UAE might take their place in Group G.

Meanwhile, six members of Iran's delegation have been granted humanitarian visas following the team's exit from the Women's Asian Cup football tournament in Australia.

Five players had initially sought asylum, and Australia's home affairs minister Tony Burke confirmed that a further player and one member of the team's support staff had since also indicated their desire to remain in the country.

He said one of those two individuals later changed their mind and decided to return to Iran.

There have been concerns over the team's safety on their return after the players chose not to sing the national anthem before their first match at the Asian Cup against South Korea.

That drew criticism from supporters of the Iranian regime. The team did sing and salute in their second and third group games.

Trump had called on Australia to grant asylum to the entire Iranian team and said the U.S. would do so if Australia did not.

The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.