TEHRAN — Iran's football federation president Mehdi Taj announced that Iran will refuse to play its 2026 World Cup group matches in the United States and is negotiating with FIFA to relocate the games to Mexico. "We will be preparing for the World Cup. We will boycott the United States, but we will not boycott the World Cup," Taj said.

Iran is scheduled to play all three of its 2026 World Cup group matches in the United States. The tournament is being co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada this summer.

"When President Donald Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America," Taj said.

Former U.S. president Donald Trump said, "It would not be appropriate for Iran to play at the World Cup for their life and safety." At the end of February, the United States and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.

FIFA responded to Iran's position in a statement on Tuesday: "We are in regular contact with all participating member associations, including [the Islamic Republic of] Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec. 6, 2025."

Following a FIFA council meeting on Thursday, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: "FIFA is looking forward to all teams participating at the FIFA World Cup to compete in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect. We have a schedule. We will soon have the 48 competing teams confirmed and we want the FIFA World Cup to go ahead as scheduled."

Moving World Cup matches less than three months before the start of the tournament would be unprecedented. If Iran and the United States finish second in their groups, the sides will meet at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 3. Iran intends to press ahead with friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica in Turkey later this month.