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Iran’s football federation does not look favorably on the World Cup after the US-backed attacks carried out by Israel against Iran.
Iran qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer. Iran are currently set to face New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to kick off their Group G game on June 15.
However, Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj gave a dim view of the tournament for his country.
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Players from Iran celebrate after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A match between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s national football team celebrated after securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“What is certain is that after this attack we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday.
“The American regime has attacked our homeland and this is an incident that will not go unanswered.”
Andrew Guiliani, the director of the White House World Cup task force, had this to say about the situation on Saturday.
“We will deal with football matches tomorrow – tonight we celebrate their opportunity for freedom,” he wrote on X.
FIFA also noted that it will monitor the situation with Iran.
Iran’s national team will also not prepare for the World Cup, as a 40-day mourning period following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in effect.
If Iran does participate in the World Cup, athletes, officials and family members will be considered an exception to enter the United States, which President Donald Trump has previously mentioned. Iran is among countries whose citizens cannot enter the United States
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A match between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
Since the US and Israel attacked on Saturday, Iran has responded by firing missiles and drones at the latter as well as at regional countries that host US allies or military bases, including Bahrain and Qatar.
Pakinomist Digital learned that Israel’s national gymnastics team suspended all training and team activities amid the counterattack, with The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) providing a statement announcing that the violence has caused “unavoidable disruption.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty around the national teams’ professional plans, especially as we are at the start of the international season,” the statement read.
Iran’s players pose for a team photo ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group A soccer match between Iran and North Korea at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran on June 10, 2025. (ATTA KENARE/AFP)
A team source also told Pakinomist Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterattack began.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just kilometers from Jerusalem. The attacks landed in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh.
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