Barely 24 hours after FIFA boss Gianni Infantino announced that Iran can participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the USA, with most of the matches being played in the Donald Trump-led country.

A few hours after Infantino announced that Trump doesn’t have a problem with Iranians visiting the USA for the global tournament from June 11 to July 19.

However, Iran’s Sports Minister, Ahmad Donyamali, announced on Wednesday, March 11, during a state television interview in Tehran that Iran would not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

According to him, his country cannot take part in the tournament following the United States’ coordinated airstrikes on Iran with Israel on February 28.

The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran nearly two weeks ago, killing ​the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, leading to a ​region-wide conflict in the Gulf.

"Considering that this corrupt regime ⁠has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we ​participate in the World Cup," the minister told state television.

The World ​Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from

"Our children are not safe, and, ​fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist. 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," Donyamali ​said.

In the draw ​last December, ​the Iranians ⁠were grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. All three of their Group G matches ​were scheduled to take place in the ​U.S., ⁠two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World ⁠Cup ​participants held last week in Atlanta.

Iran are due to play all three of their group games in the U.S. and could even face the co-hosts in the round of 32 if both teams finish second in their respective groups.

This is the fourth consecutive time Iran have qualified for a World Cup, and they are scheduled to open their campaign against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles before their final group game against Egypt in Seattle.

The last time they qualified, they didn’t pull out of the competition despite their grappling with the effects of bomb attacks on three nuclear facilities at the time.

However, given the seriousness of their current situation, the head of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, has reportedly cast doubt on their participation.

Taj told Iranian television that it was “far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope”. He added the country’s sports officials would decide if any action was necessary.

FIFA’s general secretary, Mattias Grafstrom, said on Saturday: “Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”

Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday, January 21, announced that World Cup ticket holders can now access the priority visa appointments to travel to the United States.

This forms part of the US government’s efforts to help ticket holders secure priority visa appointment dates, as citizens of some qualified countries may otherwise be unable to obtain visas in time for the 2026 World Cup.

The FIFA Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS) is a special visa‑interview scheduling program created by the U.S. government and FIFA for the 2026 World Cup. It gives ticket holders priority access to U.S. visa appointments, ensuring fans can travel to matches in North America despite existing visa backlogs.

Speaking during a joint press briefing with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House in Washington, D.C., on 17 November,last year President Donald Trump mentioned that “I’ve directed my administration to do everything within their power to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success.”

The WhiteHouse however, warned that, a ticket isn’t a visa. Detailing how the ‘World’ will gain access into the US, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that, ticket-holders for the tournament, set for next June and July in the US, Canada and Mexico, will not be automatically granted a tourist visa.

But foreign nationals with tickets to World Cup football matches could get an interview at an embassy or consulate within six to eight weeks of applying, Rubio said.

“Your ticket is not a visa; it doesn’t guarantee admission to the US. We’re going to do the same vetting as anybody else would get. The only difference here is we’re moving them up in the queue,” the Secretary noted the first time the FIFA pass was announced in last year.