NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Iran’s football federation does not view the World Cup positively after the attacks carried out by Israel against Iran, with the help of the United States.
Iran has qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada this summer. Currently, Iran will face New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to begin their Group G play on June 15.
However, the president of the Iranian football federation, Mehdi Taj, gave a gloomy outlook on the tournament in his country.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Iran’s players celebrate after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Group A match between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s national football team celebrated after qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot wait with hope for the World Cup,” Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday.
“The American regime has attacked our homeland and this is an incident that will not go unanswered.”
Andrew Guiliani, director of the White House task force on the World Cup, had this to say about the situation on Saturday.
“Tomorrow we will deal with football games; tonight we will celebrate your chance at freedom,” he wrote on X.
FIFA also noted that it will closely monitor the situation with Iran.
Iran’s national team will also not prepare for the World Cup as a 40-day mourning period is in effect following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
If Iran participates in the World Cup, athletes, officials and family members will be considered an exception to enter the United States, something President Donald Trump previously mentioned. Iran is among the countries whose citizens are not allowed to enter the US.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Qualifiers Group A match between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
Since the US-Israel attack on Saturday, Iran has responded by firing missiles and drones at the latter, as well as at countries in the region that host US allies or military bases, including Bahrain and Qatar.
Pak Gazette Digital has learned that Israel’s national gymnastics team suspended all team training and activities amid the counterattack, and the Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) issued a statement announcing that the violence had caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
““The current security situation in our region has resulted in inevitable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the professional plans of the national teams, particularly now that we are at the beginning of the international season,” the statement read.
Iran’s players pose for a team photo before the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Zone Qualifying Group A football match between Iran and North Korea at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran on June 10, 2025. (ATTA KENARE/AFP)
A source within the team also told Pak Gazette Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterattacks began.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage fell just miles from Jerusalem. The attacks hit the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh.
Related article
