Iran will "certainly not" play World Cup games in U.S., would prefer games in Mexico, embassy says

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, one of the participating nations says it will "certainly not" play in the U.S. as scheduled.

In a post on the X account for Iran's embassy in Mexico on Tuesday, Mehdi Taj, President of the Iranian Football Federation, said the nation is negotiating with FIFA to play its matches in Mexico, but so far there's been no resolution. The announcement comes as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike the Middle Eastern country in an operation that some U.S. officials describe as an outright war.

"When [President] Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America," Taj said. "We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran's matches in the World Cup in Mexico."

As it currently stands, Iran is guaranteed three group-play matches at the World Cup in June. Two of those games, on June 15 and 21 against New Zealand and Belgium, respectively, are scheduled at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Los Angeles notably has the largest Iranian population in the U.S. according to Census data, earning the nickname "Tehrangeles."

Its other match is set against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

In a statement, FIFA said it's in regular contact with all member associations, including Iran, while planning for the World Cup.

"FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025," the statement says.

Iran's status in the world's largest sporting event has been up in the air since the war with Iran began.

Mr. Trump said on Truth Social last week that Iran is welcome to participate in the tournament, but added he doesn't believe it's "appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety."

There's no resolution set in place for Iran's status in the World Cup as of Tuesday. Iran qualified for the tournament by winning its group in the Asian Federation in March 2025.

Speculation has ramped up in recent weeks that Iran could pull out of the tournament completely if an alternate solution can't be found. It's not clear which nation would replace Iran should they choose not to compete.

While Taj says negotiations are ongoing to move their games to Mexico, it's not clear whether Iran's Group G opponents, New Zealand and Belgium, would agree to the change. It's also unclear whether FIFA would entertain such a drastic change to the logistics of the World Cup just three months before the tournament.

Mexico is currently scheduled to host 13 matches in the World Cup across Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. Along with the U.S. and Mexico, World Cup matches are also being hosted in Canada.