Iran’s soccer federation is negotiating with Fifa to move the country’s first-round matches at the World Cup to Mexico from the United States, citing the Middle East conflict, Iran’s embassy in Mexico said Monday.
The country’s participation in the summer finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the battle began at the end of last month.
Iran’s head of football, Mehdi Taj, said in a speech posted on the embassy’s X account that because US President Donald Trump “has clearly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian national team, we will definitely not travel to America”.
“We are currently negotiating with Fifa to host Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico,” he added.
Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle.
The team’s base camp for the tournament is currently set to be in Tucson, Arizona.
