Iran's sports minister has said the country's men's national football team will not take part in the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, citing the ongoing war in West Asia following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ahmad Donyamali said Tehran does not see the conditions as suitable for the national team to participate in the tournament, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.
Speaking in a television interview with the DPA news agency, Donyamali ruled out Iran's participation in the competition scheduled for June 11 to July 18. "The conditions do not exist for us to take part in the World Cup after this corrupt government murdered our leader," he said.
"Because of the malicious measures taken against Iran, we were forced to fight two wars in eight or nine months, and thousands of our compatriots were killed. Therefore, we have no possibility of participating under these circumstances," Donyamali told DPA news.
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