Live updates: Follow the latest news on US-Iran war
As it stands, nobody can say with any certainty whether Iran will play in this summer's World Cup finals.
Iran were among the first Asian nations to qualify for the tournament to be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, securing their place in March 2025 with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan in Tehran.
But their participation was thrown into doubt last month when the United States and Israel launched co-ordinated air strikes, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and igniting a regional conflict.
With Iran currently at war with a World Cup host nation, it seems improbable that their national team can take part.
However, they are yet to withdraw, and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino has said nothing since March 11 when he claimed US President Donald Trump had given him assurances over Iran's participation.
Trump then contradicted him inside 24 hours, when he said: “I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
What is Iran's position on playing at the World Cup?
The Iranian team has been drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, with their fixtures scheduled to be played in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Nima Tavallaey, an Iranian football journalist based in Sweden, told The National he cannot envisage a scenario where Iranian players compete on US soil.
So far, there have been contradictory statements from officials within Iran's sporting infrastructure. Sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television the team “certainly cannot participate”.
Meanwhile, Mehdi Taj, president of Iran's Football Federation, claimed they were “negotiating with Fifa” to switch their matches to fellow host nation Mexico. Fifa then appeared to rule out that possibility. Taj also said on Thursday that Iran will “boycott the US and not the World Cup”.
“Fifa is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced,” the governing body said in a statement.
Tavallaey believes Iran is yet to settle on a fixed stance. “I don't think a decision has been made,” he said, citing a distinction between ministerial opinion and institutional authority.
“[Donyamali] said what he said. He's a sports minister. It's important that people understand that, of course, as a minister of a government, he doesn't decide that. Every FA has to be independent, otherwise they'll be suspended by Fifa.”
Tavallaey does, however, believe one thing is certain: “What's been made perfectly clear is that Iran does not want to play their games in the United States, a country they're currently at war with. And you can't really blame them.”
That is likely to create an impasse, with Fifa reportedly unwilling to move games due to the logistical challenges involved.
Trump's stance has also been widely condemned in football. Iran's national team responded on Instagram, tagging Infantino and suggesting it was the US whose fitness as host merited scrutiny. “The way that the Iranian national team handled it was masterful,” Tavallaey said.
He believes Infantino's silence is no coincidence, given he now presides over a situation where Trump, to whom he bestowed Fifa's inaugural peace prize last December, is overseeing the US bombing of a World Cup participant.
“[Infantino] knows that he's in a very precarious position,” added Tavallaey. “I'm not even 100 per cent certain this tournament gets played at all, if I'm honest with you.”
The Fifa congress convenes on April 30 in Vancouver. “Everything is very much up in the air,” Tavallaey added.
'Iran is a country in mourning'
Asked whether ordinary Iranians feel the team should compete at the World Cup, Tavallaey's answer was sombre.
“Right now people are too busy trying not to get killed. Bombs are dropping on people's heads, children are being murdered, schools are being flattened,” he said. “People aren't focused on anything else other than survival right now.
“Iran is a country in mourning. We're a nation in mourning. This week is Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. The first day of spring. It is a celebration of life. We're not going to celebrate life when we have death this close upon us.”
He turned the question towards the players. “I wonder even if the players want to play. They're Iranian too. They're part of the culture. They're part of the people. And the World Cup is a celebration of football. There is nothing to celebrate right now for Iranians. Nothing.
“From what I understand, the national team is united,” he added. “Some people in the national team are pro-government, some aren't, but now the unity is around Iran's survival and against the war because it's an existential war for a nation state or a civilisation with 7,000-year roots. That's what people are united behind.”
He also dismissed a widely circulated rumour that Mehdi Taremi, the country’s star striker, had left his club, Olympiacos in Greece, to join the military.
“He did his military service when he was, I think, 18 or 19. These rumours floating around that he’s left Greece and joined the military, it’s just ludicrous,” he said.
'Wartime traitors' return home
While the men's team remain in limbo, the Iranian women's team found themselves at the centre of a global media storm following their refusal to sing the national anthem at an Asian Cup match in Australia.
After several players stood in silence ahead of the match against South Korea on March 2, they were labelled “wartime traitors” on Iranian state television. The team later sang the anthem before their second match against host nation Australia, raising fears among campaigners that the players had been pressured by officials accompanying the squad.
After elimination, the Australian government offered humanitarian visas to squad members who feared reprisals. Seven accepted but then five withdrew and returned home. Two players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, remained in Australia and have since begun training with Brisbane Roar.
Tavallaey believes the idea the players faced reprisals at home was exaggerated and based on a broader misunderstanding of how Iranian media works.
“The reporting around Iran is that Iran is this monolith where everything that is said by anyone on TV is automatically the opinion of the state, where nothing can be further from the truth,” he said. “When the state speaks, the state speaks. Period. What some talking head on a sports broadcast says is not official state policy.”
He added: “What we have seen is five out of seven wanting to return home to a country, their country, which is being bombed. They want to return to a war zone. That's what we know.”
