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Iran are looking to have their World Cup matches moved from the United States to Mexico.
The Middle East nation’s participation at this summer’s tournament in North America has been cast into doubt after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, which then retaliated with attacks on US interests in other Gulf countries.
US President Donald Trump said last week he did not think it was “appropriate” for Iran to be at the World Cup “for their own life and safety”.
Now, the president of Iran’s football federation Mehdi Taj has said one solution being considered is to move the team’s matches to co-host Mexico.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” Taj said in a statement posted on the X account of the Iranian embassy in Mexico.
“We are currently negotiating with Fifa to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
Moving the games at this late stage would be logistically difficult, particularly considering Iran could end up in the US anyway in the knockout rounds depending on where they finish in their group.
As things stand, the Iranians are grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G, with all three of their matches scheduled to take place in the US – two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
If both the US and Iran finish second in their respective groups, the two countries could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Dallas.
Taj's comments come after the Asian Football Confederation revealed they had not received any notification from Iran that it will withdraw from the World Cup.
“It's a very emotional moment. Everybody's saying a lot of things,” AFC General Secretary Windsor John told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
“At the end of the day, it's the federation who should decide if they're playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup.
“They are our member, we want them to play. You know, they qualified … so we hope that they will solve their issues, whatever it is, and be able to participate."
