Donald Trump Makes Big Decision Over Iran and 2026 FIFA World Cup

US President Donald Trump has made his decision regarding Iran and the upcoming 2026 World Cup finals, which get underway this June in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Iran qualified for the showpiece international tournament last March and have been drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.

However, it’s currently unclear whether Iran will compete for football’s biggest prize this summer after the United States and Israel launched a joint military attack on the nation two weeks ago, with Trump calling for a regime change after carrying out “major combat operations”.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, said shortly after his country were targeted: “With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that."

There’s been much speculation that Iran could be replaced by another national team - with the United Arab Emirates and Iraq both mentioned as potential options in reports - and there have even been suggestions that the 2026 World Cup could be postponed if the conflict isn’t resolved quickly.

However, FIFA’s chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi has since confirmed that the tournament will go ahead as planned, telling reporters: “At some stage, we will have a resolution, and the World Cup will go on, obviously. The World Cup is too big, and we ‌hope that everyone can ⁠participate that has qualified."

Gianni Infantino Reveals Trump's Decision Over Iran

Trump, who said the US war against Iran would end ‘very soon’ earlier this week, met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday and revealed his decision over Amir Ghalenoei’s team.

In a statement posted via his Instagram account, Infantino said: “This evening, I met with the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days.

“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”

Infantino added: “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World.”

Trump said last week "I really don't care" when asked if Iran would be competing at the 2026 World Cup. "I think Iran is a very badly defeated country," he added. "They're running on fumes." However, the US President's stance on Iran competing at the World Cup appears to have softened, based on Infantino's comments.

Iran, who have now been given permission to compete at the tournament by Trump, will play all three of their group stage matches in the United States: two in Los Angeles and the other in Seattle.

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