President Donald Trump on Thursday extended a somewhat two-sided invitation to the Iranian national football team to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Trump said the team is welcome to participate in the tournament, but he appeared to warn against doing so, nearly two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.
“The Iranian national football team is welcome at the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate for them to be there for their own lives and safety,” he said. Trump wrote in a social media post. “Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump’s comments came just a day after Iran’s sports minister said the team would be barred from participating in the tournament due to the ongoing war and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Given that this corrupt regime murdered our leader, we cannot under any circumstances participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The team has competed in six World Cups, most recently the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where it finished third in Group B behind the US and England. The team’s first World Cup appearance came in 1978, when the Islamic Revolution was underway.
The sports minister’s claim and Trump’s subsequent invitation come just days after seven members of the Iranian women’s national football team were granted humanitarian visas in Australia after the team traveled to the Women’s Asian Cup ahead of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran. CNN reported this earlier this week.
Those granted visas included six players and a member of the team’s support staff, who chose not to return to their home countries for fear of persecution. The rest of the team left Sydney on Tuesday, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed to CNN.
