Iran has announced it will not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, citing escalating political tensions and recent conflicts that have claimed thousands of lives.
Ahmad Doyanmali, Iran’s Minister of Sports, disclosed the decision in an interview with the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, saying the current circumstances in the country make participation in the global football tournament impossible.
According to the minister, Iran’s position is tied to what he described as actions by a “corrupt government” responsible for the killing of the country’s leader, a development that has intensified the crisis facing the nation.
Doyanmali said the country has been forced into two wars within the past eight to nine months, resulting in the deaths of several thousand Iranian citizens and creating conditions that make international sporting participation untenable.
“Considering that this corrupt government has killed our leader, there are no conditions that would allow us to participate in the World Cup,” he said.
The minister added that the human and political toll of the conflicts had left the country in a state where taking part in the tournament would be inappropriate.
“Two wars have been forced upon us in the last eight or nine months and several thousand of our citizens have been killed. Therefore, there is no possibility for us to participate under these circumstances,” Doyanmali stated.
He also argued that if another country hosting the tournament were responsible for such developments, the international community would likely have reacted by stripping it of the hosting rights.
Under FIFA regulations, a participating nation that withdraws from the World Cup can be replaced by another team, with the global football governing body retaining the authority to determine the appropriate replacement.
Iran had been drawn in Group G of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand before announcing its decision not to participate.
