"It's not possible to say exactly, but there will certainly be a response. This will surely be studied by the country's high-ranking sports officials and there will be a decision on what's going to happen. But what we can say now is that due to this attack and its viciousness, it is far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope."
"Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating. However, Iranian fans will be banned from traveling to the US for the tournament as they like fellow qualifiers Ivory Coast, Senegal and Haiti are on US President Donald Trump's travel ban list."
With 100 days until the 2026 World Cup, Iran's qualification is in jeopardy following military escalations in the Middle East involving US and Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent Iranian retaliation. Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj indicated the country may reconsider participation, stating it is difficult to approach the tournament with hope given the attacks' severity. Iran's men's team is scheduled to play all group matches in the US against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt. However, Iranian fans face travel restrictions under US President Donald Trump's travel ban, though players and officials remain exempt. FIFA stated focus remains on hosting a safe tournament with full participation. Iran's women's team competed in the Asian Cup without political protest.
Read at www.dw.com
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