IRGC

US-Iran ceasefire holds as Tehran warns Washington against attacks on tankers and Israel kills 24 people in Lebanon.

Iran’s football chief says the country’s preparations for the World Cup remain on track, but its participation will depend on a guarantee of respect for the Iranian armed forces by tournament cohosts the United States.

The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) will seek reassurance from FIFA that the US will not insult the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) during the World Cup, FFIRI President Mehdi Taj said on Tuesday.

“[The] Americans, if they guarantee not to insult our military institutions and the IRGC, we’ll go,” Taj told state broadcaster IRIB.

“If they give such a guarantee that an incident like Canada doesn’t happen and they definitely assure it, we will go,” he added.

Taj was referring to an incident that took place last week, when an FFIRI delegation turned back at Toronto’s main airport, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and missed a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver.

The delegation members, including Taj, turned back ⁠⁠⁠⁠upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials”.

“They [delegation] returned to Turkiye on the first available flight due to the unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials at the airport and the insult to one of the most honourable organs of the Iranian nation’s armed forces,” the FFIRI said in a statement following the incident.

In 2024, Canada listed Iran’s IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with the IRGC.

“IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” the Canadian government said.

The US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28.

At least 3,468 people have been killed in US-Israeli attacks, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health. More than 26,500 people have been injured, including at least 4,000 women and 1,621 children.

Iranian forces retaliated, launching attacks on Middle East countries where US troops are deployed, as well as Israel.

‘Our host is FIFA, not Mr Trump’

Taj, who was speaking in Tehran, will meet FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom at the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich this month.

During the meeting, Taj said he will seek guarantees that the Iranian team and accompanying officials would not face entry restrictions or “disrespect”, particularly towards Iran’s state institutions.

“We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system – especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said.

“This is something they must pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and the responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what ⁠⁠happened in Canada will not happen again.”

The Iranian team is going full-speed ahead with its preparations for the World Cup, and football officials have outlined the team’s training and preparations for the tournament, which include camps at home and in neighbouring Turkiye before travelling to the US.

The squad will depart for Turkiye on Monday for their final leg of preparations before travelling to the US in June.

Team Melli will kick off their ‌‌‌‌campaign ‌‌‌‌against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before taking on Belgium at the same stadium on June 21 and facing Egypt in their final group match in Seattle on June 26.

Taj insisted Iran had earned the right to play in the World Cup as one of the first teams to have qualified for the tournament.

“We are going to the World Cup because we qualified,” the Iranian official said. “Our host is FIFA, not Mr Trump or America.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US has not told the Iranian national team that it cannot play.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he added the players will not be allowed to bring people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with them.

Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran’s participation in this summer’s edition of FIFA’s global showpiece has been in doubt because all of the country’s group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the United States.

“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.

“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.

“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added.

Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.

US President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Rubio, added that his administration “would not want to affect the athletes”.

The World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the US, Mexico and Canada.

Speculation about Iran’s participation has been rife, with officials from both Iran and the US weighing in.

In a statement on Wednesday, however, Iran’s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said all necessary arrangements for the team’s participation in the tournament have been ensured by the Ministry of Sports and Youth.

An envoy for Trump, though, has been quoted as suggesting that Italy, who failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight edition, should replace Iran at this year’s World Cup.

Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who is ⁠a US envoy for global relations, told The Financial Times that he made the suggestion to both Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,” Zampolli, who has no official connection with the World Cup ⁠or Italian football, said earlier this week.

Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has rebuked the idea, saying “it ‌is not appropriate … You qualify on the pitch,” while Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti described the concept as “shameful”.

Iran qualified for a fourth successive World Cup last year but, after the start of the war, requested that FIFA move the team’s three group matches from the US to Mexico – a suggestion that was rejected.

Iran is now seemingly ⁠proceeding as planned.

“We are preparing and making arrangements for the World Cup, but we are obedient to the ⁠decisions of the authorities,” Iranian football federation President Mehdi Taj told reporters at a pro-government rally in Tehran on Wednesday.

Iran’s revolutionary guard has released a video said to show its forces seizing a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The container ship was one of two captured by Iran on Wednesday.