Iran has said no one can bar its national team from participating in the upcoming World Cup, responding to a warning by U.S. President Donald Trump that the players’ “life and safety” could be at risk in the United States.
Gatekeepers News reports that in a statement posted on social media on Thursday, the Iranian national team said the United States should not co-host the tournament if it cannot guarantee the safety of participating teams.
Trump’s remarks came just two days after he assured Gianni Infantino that Iranian players would still be welcome at the tournament despite the ongoing Middle East conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Responding, the Iranian team stressed that decisions about participation in the global tournament rest with football’s governing body, FIFA, rather than any individual country or leader.
“The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA — not any individual, country,” the team said.
The statement also highlighted that Iran had qualified for the tournament through a strong run of results.
“Iran’s national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament.”
The team insisted that no country had the authority to prevent its participation.
“Certainly no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that can be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.”
The ongoing war, triggered by joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has raised uncertainty over the country’s participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Trump later issued another message on his social media platform, stressing that the event would be safe for players and fans attending the tournament.
“The United States of America looks very much forward to hosting the FIFA World Cup,” he wrote. “Ticket sales are ‘through the roof!’”
