U.S. President Trump: Iran should skip World Cup 'for their safety' [View all]
Source: ESPN
U.S. President Trump: Iran should skip World Cup 'for their safety'
ESPN News Services
Mar 12, 2026, 11:39 AM ET
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the Iran national soccer team is "welcome" to compete at the FIFA World Cup in the United States, but advised the team not to participate for "their own life and safety."
Trump wrote on the social media site Truth Social: "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
Later on Thursday, the Iranian team responded on social media to Trump's post saying that no individual could exclude a country from the World Cup and suggested the U.S. was unable to provide the necessary security for teams participating in the tournament this summer.
"The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA -- not any individual country. Iran's national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament," the statement said.
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Read more: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/48184550/us-president-trump-iran-skip-world-cup-safety
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