The Iranian Minister of Sports has sharply criticized the U.S. government
The Iranian national football team has decided not to participate in the World Cup, which will take place this year in several countries, including the United States. This was announced by Iran's Minister of Sports Ahmad Donyamali, according to Reuters.
“Our circumstances do not allow us to participate in this tournament, considering that the regime that killed our leader [Ali Khamenei] is corrupt. We cannot ignore their aggressive actions against Iran, which have led to two wars in eight or nine months and caused the deaths of thousands of our people. Therefore, our participation in the World Cup is impossible,” Donyamali noted.
At this time, it is unclear whether Iran has completed all the necessary formalities to officially withdraw from the World Cup. FIFA has not yet commented on this matter.
The World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Iran is in a group with Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand, and all three matches of this group are set to take place in the United States: two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Recently, a FIFA summit was held in Atlanta to plan teams for the World Cup, where Iran was the only participating country absent from the meeting.
photo www
