US President Donald Trump stated that the Iranian national football team is 'welcome' at the World Cup, but advised them not to participate 'for their own safety'. 'The Iranian national football team is welcome at the World Cup, but I really don't think it's appropriate for them to be there for their own safety,' he wrote on the social network Truth Social. The American leader's message came a day after Iran's Minister of Sport, Ahmad Donyamali, stated that 'there are no conditions' for his country to participate in the World Cup after the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the Israeli-American operation that began on February 28. 'After the corrupt government killed our leader, there are no conditions that allow us to participate in the World Cup,' the minister said, also adding: 'They have imposed two wars on us in eight or nine months, and thousands of our citizens have died.' Earlier this week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with Trump at the White House, where the American leader informed him that the Iranian team is 'of course welcome' to compete in the tournament in the United States. Infantino also revealed that during the conversation, Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States. 'We talked about the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026,' Infantino said. According to him, Trump assured that the players and coaching staff of the Iranian team would be granted visas to enter the United States, but not fans, citing national security concerns. As a result, the Iranian team's participation became uncertain. The Iranian team was scheduled to play its three matches in the United States; on June 15 and 21 in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, respectively; and on June 26 against Egypt in Seattle. In November, the US president had guaranteed that Iranian players and coaches would receive visas to enter the US, but not fans, citing national security reasons. In the end, Iran declined to participate in the tournament.
