Iran was the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. But when FIFA convened a planning meeting for participating nations this week in Atlanta, Iran was the one country missing, APA reports citing Politico.
That absence has fueled questions about whether Tehran will send a team to the United States for this summer’s tournament amid a potentially escalating regional war, and whether the U.S. government would allow Iranian officials to enter the country if it does.
“I really don’t care,” if Iran participates, President Donald Trump told POLITICO in an exclusive interview on Tuesday morning. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”