Donald Trump takes clear stance after Gianni Infantino confirms Iran will play in World Cup
Donald Trump has made his stance clear after FIFA president Gianni Infantino's confirmation that Iran will participate in the 2026 World Cup.
Speculation surrounding Iran's entry has dominated coverage of the build-up to the tournament, which begins in June, over recent months.
US and Israel are currently involved in conflict against Iran, which began with strikes on Iran and the killing of its Ayotollah, Ali Khamenei.
Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US and Israeli military bases across the West Region of the Middle East and, while the aerial conflict continues, a new dispute has opened up surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route controlled by Iran.
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Iran's sports minister said in March that 'under no circumstances' could his nation pull out of the World Cup, but there was never an official announcement made surrounding their participation.
Last week, US secretary of state Marco Rubio confirmed that Iran's athletes would be welcome in the United States for the tournament, but warned that anybody connected with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) - which the US proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2019 - would be barred from entry.
Read more: US secretary of state issues statement on Iran playing at World Cup as major 'problem' revealed
Now, Infantino has confirmed that Iran will play all of their three Group G games, against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, in the United States as scheduled.
"Of course, Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026," Infantino told a FIFA congress in Vancouver on Thursday. "And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America.
"The reason for that is simple, because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.
"There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world?
"We have to do it, and we have this opportunity."
'If Gianni said it' - Trump on Iran World Cup entry
During a media conference at the White House on Thursday, President Trump was quizzed on Infantino's comments given the sensitivity surrounding the US conflict with Iran.
"Well if Gianni said it, I'm OK," Trump replied. "Did Gianni say it? Gianni Infantino - that's a piece of work.
"You know what? Let them play. Gianni is fantastic. He's a friend of mine. He talked about it, I said, 'You do whatever you want. You can have them, you don't have to have them'.
"They probably have a good team. Do they have a good team, do you have any idea?" he asked the reporters.
"It would be hard to believe, actually. But let them play, right?"
The President was also asked what would happen in the unlikely event that Iran won the World Cup: "If they win, we'll have to worry about that. I'm going to have to worry about that one."
Although Iran are one of the outsiders at the World Cup, they did reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup back in 2023 and were one of the first nations to qualify for the tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
With up to three teams from each group qualifying for the expanded round of 32 stage, Iran will see matches against Egypt and New Zealand as key opportunities given they are placed higher in the FIFA World Rankings than both nations.
Topics:Â Donald Trump, FIFA, Gianni Infantino
Ryan Smart