Iran Says It Will Not Participate In 2026 World Cup After U.S. and Israeli Airstrikes

Iran announced it will not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes, a decision confirmed by Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali on Wednesday.

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Haaretz

Haaretz reported Donyamali’s statement that "Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the U.S. launched airstrikes alongside Israel," while MyNewsLA similarly noted that Iran’s sports minister said the country would withdraw following the strikes and raised questions about scheduled group-stage matches in Los Angeles.

Haaretz

Reuters’ time-stamped feed carried the reporting on March 12, 2026 linking the withdrawal announcement to the airstrikes.

Donyamali framed the decision in stark political terms on state television, explicitly linking Iran’s withdrawal to the strikes and invoking the assassination of an Iranian leader as a trigger for the move.

MyNewsLA quoted him saying, “Given that this corrupt government assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” and Haaretz identified Donyamali as the source of the announcement; the Reuters feed carried the same attribution in its coverage.

MyNewsLA

Practical implications are immediate for the U.S. venues: Iran had been scheduled to play two group-stage matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in June — against New Zealand and Belgium — before finishing its Group G slate against Egypt in Seattle, raising logistical and competitive questions for the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

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Haaretz

MyNewsLA detailed the exact fixtures and stadiums, and Haaretz’s report and the Reuters timestamp emphasize how the withdrawal intersects with the U.S.-hosted portion of the event scheduled to begin in June.

News reports place the immediate cause of Iran’s decision in a fresh wave of strikes: outlets say the United States and Israel began launching airstrikes against Iran in February, and Iran’s sports minister directly linked those strikes to the withdrawal.

MyNewsLA said Iran’s participation “was thrown into doubt after the United States and Israel began launching airstrikes against Iran on Feb.,” while Haaretz and the Reuters timestamp connected the March 12 announcement to that escalatory context.

MyNewsLA