Published On 9/5/2026
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Last update: 19:27 (Mecca time)
The Iranian Football Federation confirmed on Saturday that the men’s national team will participate in the 2026 World Cup this summer, but asked the host countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada – to take its concerns into account in light of the ongoing war in the Middle East.
This position comes after Canada last month refused to grant an entry visa to federation president Mehdi Taj to participate in the International Federation of Associations (FIFA) Congress, alleging his ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which Ottawa classified as a “terrorist organization” in 2024.
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Iran’s participation in the tournament, scheduled for June 11 and July 19, has remained in doubt since the outbreak of the war with an American-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
The Iranian Federation said in a statement on its website: “We will certainly participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the host countries must take our concerns into account.”
He added: “We will participate in the World Cup finals, without any retreat from our beliefs, culture and convictions.”
Yesterday, Friday, the president of the Iranian Federation said in statements to state television, “Tehran has set 10 conditions for participation, demanding guarantees regarding the treatment of host countries.”
Iran’s conditions for participating in the World Cup
These conditions include granting visas, respecting the team’s technical staff, the team’s flag and its national anthem during the tournament, as well as requiring a high level of security at airports, hotels and on the roads leading to the stadiums where it will play its matches.
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that Iranian footballers will be welcome in the tournament. But he warned, in return, that the United States might prevent the entry of members of the Iranian mission who have ties to the Revolutionary Guard, which Washington also classifies as a “terrorist organization.”
In this regard, Taj said: “Visas should be granted without any problems to all players and members of the technical staff, especially those who performed their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, such as Mehdi Taremi and Ihsan Haj Safi.”
Iran is scheduled to be based in Tucson, Arizona, during the World Cup, where it will face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group Seven.
The Iranians will open their tournament campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
The Iranian Federation stressed that “any external force cannot deprive Iran of participating in a tournament for which it has well deservedly qualified.”
