‘I really don’t care’ – Donald Trump on Iran’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had no concerns about Iran’s participation in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.

“I really don’t care,” Trump said POLITICS when asked about the West Asian country’s participation in the football showpiece. «I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They are running on fumes.»

The statement comes as Israel and the US continue to wage war with Iran. The US has closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Lebanon after several were hit by Iranian retaliatory attacks, according to the latest reports on Wednesday. A US military base in Qatar, which happened to be the largest in the Middle East, was also hit.

More than 1,000 people, including children, have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

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Although FIFA, football’s governing body, is closely monitoring the situation, it has yet to issue an official statement on the situation. Although FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: «I hope so much that it will be a moment of peace. The world really needs it,» Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said it was too early to comment in detail.

Incidentally, Iran, the first team to qualify for the upcoming edition of the World Cup, was excluded from a planning meeting for participating countries earlier this week in Atlanta.

“What is certain is that after this attack we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Iranian federation president Mehdi Taj had said earlier. Varzesh3.

If rumors are to be believed, the team, which was scheduled to play New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26, could now be replaced by Tehran.

Published on March 4, 2026