President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was unconcerned about whether Iran would take part in this summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
"I really don't care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They're running on fumes," Trump told Politico.
Iran was the only nation absent from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants in Atlanta this week, raising fresh doubts about whether its national team will compete on U.S. soil amid rising regional tensions.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the intensity of U.S. and Israeli attacks did not bode well for the World Cup, scheduled for June 11 to July 19. Iran earned a trip to a fourth consecutive World Cup by topping Group A in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
The Iranians were grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G. Their matches are scheduled in the U.S., with two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
If both the U.S. and Iran finish second in their respective groups, the two countries could meet in a July 3 elimination match in Dallas.
Iran is one of two competing nations subject to Trump’s most restrictive travel ban, enacted by executive order last June, according to Politico. While the ban carves out World Cup teams and support personnel, decisions on visa exceptions for others, including government figures or executives from team-sponsoring companies, are left to the State Department on a case-by-case basis.
Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force, said in a January interview in Colorado Springs that security concerns would shape the administration’s approach to travel ban exceptions.
In a statement to Politico on Tuesday, Giuliani added: "President Trump's decisive action to eliminate the Ayatollah, the most notorious state sponsor of terrorism in my lifetime, removes a major destabilizing threat and will help protect people around the world, including Americans and the millions planning to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States."
In the modern era, no team that has qualified has failed to take part in the World Cup finals. Iran would almost certainly be replaced if it withdraws from the tournament.
