Trump says he ‘doesn’t care’ if Iran plays at 2026 World Cup

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he did not care whether Iran participated in this summer’s soccer World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes,” Trump told Politico.

Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held this week in Atlanta, deepening questions over whether the country’s national team will compete on U.S. soil this summer amid an escalating regional conflict.

Soccer’s world governing body, FIFA, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the intensity of the attacks by U.S. and Israeli forces did not augur well for the World Cup, scheduled to be held from June 11 to July 19.

Iran secured qualification for a fourth successive World Cup by topping Group A in the third round of Asian qualifiers last year.

The Iranians have been drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Their matches are scheduled to take place in the United States — two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. If both the U.S. and Iran finish second in their respective groups, the two sides could meet in a July 3 knockout match in Dallas.

Iran is one of two competing nations subject to Trump’s most restrictive travel ban, enacted by executive order last June, according to Politico. While the ban provides exemptions for World Cup teams and support personnel, decisions on visa exceptions for others — including government officials or executives from team-sponsoring companies — are left to the State Department on a case-by-case basis.

Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force, said in a January interview in Colorado Springs that security concerns would shape the administration’s approach to travel ban exemptions.

In a statement to Politico on Tuesday, Giuliani added: “President Trump’s decisive action to eliminate the Ayatollah, the most notorious state sponsor of terrorism in my lifetime, removes a major destabilising threat and will help protect people around the world, including Americans and the millions planning to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States.”

In the modern era, no team that has qualified has failed to participate in the World Cup finals. Iran would almost certainly be replaced if it withdraws from the tournament.