Iran could be banned from the 2026 World Cup in USA over bombings
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Iran could be spectacularly banned from participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup amid the threat of war between the Islamic Republic and tournament host nation USA.
The national team back in March were the sixth team to qualify for the tournament set to take place in America, Mexico and Canada next year, but the latest air strikes on the country's nuclear facilities have the world watching on with ongoing military tensions continuing to escalate.
The situation makes it unlikely Team Melli — Iran's national football team — will be playing games on US soil.
Their fourth successive World Cup appearance is now in serious jeopardy.
A tournament ban is a genuine possibility given several teams have been barred from international tournaments previously on the basis that warring nations cannot participate.
Russia have been indefinitely suspended by FIFA since invading Ukraine while FIFA and UEFA also banned Yugoslavia during 1990s as a result of the Balkans conflict.
Even if Iran do participate in next year's tournament, they are most likely to be without supporters as the country remains on President Donald Trump's banned travel list which bars citizens from travelling to America.
The decision was made back in March and included severe travel restrictions to over 40 countries including Iran, Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and others.
Exemptions will most likely be granted for the team and associated staff only.
There is no associated ban from Mexico and Canada, who will host the other 26 matches of the tournament.
Despite already qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Iran's hopes of participating may be quashed as the threat of war continues to loom between them and the tournaments host nation. Photo: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi.
With the schedule already drawn up to decide cities, date and stages, the best case scenario would be for Iran to be drawn into Group A and play all three group stage matches in Mexico.
However, any progress to the knockout stages means the side will play at least one match in America, creating a logistic nightmare for organisers.
Meanwhile, Iran and Inter Milan striker Milan Mehdi Taremi has found himself stuck in his home country in the capital city of Tehran amid the ongoing war with no way of getting out.
Taremi was named by Inter in the 32 man squad for the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the US, but is unable to join his side as the conflict continues.
The 32-year-old initially flew back to Iran to compete in their qualifiers against Qatar and North Korea and to accept Iran's footballer of the Year award, and planned to leave for Los Angeles straight after but was left stranded.
Iran and Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi remains stranded in Iran and unable to join his teammates currently in America playing the FIFA Club World Cup. Photo: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi.
It was Taremi's two goals in the 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan that sealed his sides World Cup qualification back in March, but the striker has now been left stranded as his club scrambles to find a way out.
It is reported that Inter president Giuseppe Marotta has been in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Italian ambassador to Tehran to find a way out for the Milan striker, but has been unsuccessful.
The player himself is said to been in constant contact with teammates, who won their most recent group stage match against Urawa Reds.
Neither FIFA president Gianni Infantino nor host nation President Trump have yet commented on Iran's participation in the tournament.
Originally published as Iran could be banned from the 2026 World Cup in USA over bombings
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Tehran, which denies its nuclear program is for anything other than peaceful purposes, launched a volley of missiles towards Israel in the aftermath of the US attack, wounding scores of people and destroying buildings in Tel Aviv. But it has not acted on its main options for retaliation, to attack US bases or choke off the 20 per cent of global oil shipments that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Attempting to strangle the strait could send global oil prices skyrocketing, derail the world economy and invite conflict with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based in nearby Bahrain. Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January. Iran says the US attack on its nuclear sites expanded the range of legitimate targets for its armed forces and called US President Donald Trump a "gambler" for joining Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central military headquarters, said the US should expect heavy consequences for its actions. "Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it," Zolfaqari said in English at the end of a recorded video statement. Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced for Tehran's response to the US attack on its nuclear sites over the weekend, which Trump suggested could lead to the overthrow of the Iranian government. "It's not politically correct to use the term, "Regime Change," but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Commercial satellite imagery indicated Saturday's attack on Iran's Fordow nuclear plant far underground had severely damaged or destroyed the site and the uranium-enriching centrifuges it housed, but its status remained unconfirmed, experts said. 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