Iran says ‘under no circumstances’ will it participate following the US-Israeli attacks that killed its supreme leader.
Iran cannot participate in the FIFA World Cup after the United States killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the country’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali.
“Considering that this corrupt regime [the US] has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television on Wednesday.
The US will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, but all of Iran’s group-stage fixtures are allocated to American cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.
The US and Israeli war on Iran, which began on February 28, has killed 1,255 people and wounded more than 12,000 in the first 12 days of the war.
Tehran has responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel, several military bases in the Middle East where US forces operate and at infrastructure in the region.
“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.”
It is the first time an official from the Iranian government has spoken on the country’s participation in the global tournament since the US and Israel launched their attacks on the nation on February 28.
The head of the Iranian Football Federation cast doubt on his team’s participation last week, but did not say the team would boycott the tournament.
“After this attack [on Iran], we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), said on March 1.
“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Taj asked on Iranian state television.
Earlier, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Iran’s participation in the World Cup would be welcomed by US President Donald Trump, with whom he met and discussed the upcoming tournament amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Infantino said on Wednesday that Trump “reiterated that the Iranian team is welcome to compete in the tournament”, which is being cohosted by the US, Mexico and Canada in June and July.
During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, “we also spoke about the current situation in Iran,” Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body, wrote on Instagram.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” he wrote.
Iran was the first country to secure qualification for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19.