Khaberni - "Iran will participate in next summer's World Cup and will have its matches as scheduled in the United States, despite the ongoing war in the Middle East," confirmed FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday to Agence France-Presse.
Infantino added during the halftime of the friendly match between Iran and Costa Rica in Antalya, southern Turkey, "We are here for this. We are happy because it is a very, very strong team, and I am very happy."
Infantino said, "I saw the team, and I spoke to the players and the coach, so everything is fine," adding that "the matches will be held where they should, according to the results of the draw," at a time when Iran had requested to play its first-round matches in Mexico instead of the United States from June 11 to July 19.
FIFA's president, whose attendance was not previously announced, sat in the stands just before the start of the match and took photos with several members of the Iranian federation, as observed by a journalist from Agence France-Presse.
Doubts about Iran's participation in the World Cup increased after a war broke out on February 28 following a joint Israeli-American attack on Iran before it expanded to the region.
The president of the Iranian federation, Mehdi Taj, had announced in mid-March that he was "in negotiations with FIFA for Iran's matches to be held in Mexico" instead of on American soil, as had been planned until now.
He added, "We are boycotting the United States (...) not the World Cup."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country is ready to host Iran's matches in the first round if necessary.
While it seemed FIFA was ruling out any compromise, despite American President Donald Trump's statement that the Iranian players would not be "safe" in the United States, the federation affirmed its desire for the tournament to be held "as planned."
According to the official schedule, Iran is supposed to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and then Egypt in Seattle during the first round of the World Cup. The team's main camp for the tournament is supposed to be in Tucson, Arizona.
