Iran's Embassy in Mexico on Tuesday said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran's World Cup matches from the US. It was unclear whether such talks are actually happening with FIFA, which didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation chief Mehdi Taj saying that Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials, per the AP. "When [US President] Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America," the statement noted.
The World Cup is being co-hosted this year by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. Moving the games would be unprecedented less than three months before the start of the event. Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East, but he added that "I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety."
Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the US and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures. Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV last week that it wasn't possible to play "due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran." But after Trump's post, the national team said on Instagram that "no one can exclude" it from the tournament, and a government rep in Tehran stressed it was the responsibility of FIFA and the US as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
"When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event," an Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation that has qualified for seven men's World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA, which hasn't commented in recent days beyond an Instagram post by President Gianni Infantino last week that noted he'd received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tourney.
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