Iran boycotting 2026 World Cup draw ceremony in Washington due to denied visas by Trump administration

The groups for the 2026 World Cup volition beryllium selected astatine random adjacent week successful Washington, D.C., but 1 of the participating countries has decided to boycott the draw. 

Iran opted not to be the lawsuit due to the fact that the United States denied visas to members of its delegation, the state-run IRNA quality bureau reported connected Friday.

The bureau quoted Iranian shot federation spokesperson Amir-Mahdi Alavi arsenic saying that officials faced visa obstacles that spell beyond sports considerations. Alavi said the federation had reached retired to FIFA and hoped it could assistance resoluteness the issue.

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Iran's players observe aft the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia portion qualifiers radical A shot lucifer betwixt Iran and Uzbekistan, connected March 25, 2025 successful Tehran. (AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump's medication announced successful June a question prohibition connected citizens from 12 countries, including Iran. The database besides included Haiti, which past week qualified for the World Cup.

Exemptions, however, were promised for "any jock oregon subordinate of an diversion team, including coaches, persons performing a indispensable enactment role, and contiguous relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, oregon different large sporting lawsuit arsenic determined by the caput of state."

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's petition for comment.

It is unclear whether the exemptions besides use to the World Cup draw, which takes spot adjacent Friday astatine the Kennedy Center.

The Iranian delegation would person been expected to beryllium led by its shot federation president Mehdi Taj, 1 of the astir elder officials successful Asian shot and a subordinate of 2 FIFA committees that person oversight of the World Cup.

He is 1 of the vice presidents of the Asian Football Confederation and a subordinate of FIFA panels with work for the ruling body's competitions, positive men's nationalist squad shot successful general.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 shot World Cup quality league Thursday, June 16, 2022, successful New York.  (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

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A grounds 48 teams volition enactment successful the June 11-July 19 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Six of the teams volition beryllium determined adjacent March.

The title volition instrumentality spot astatine MetLife Stadium, the location of the New York Giants and Jets, successful East Rutherford, New Jersey. The archetypal volition beryllium astatine Estadio Azteca successful Mexico City.

Games volition besides beryllium played successful the Boston area, but Trump has threatened to instrumentality games retired of Foxoborough, Massachusetts if "there's unsafe conditions."

Trump made the proposition portion taking questions from the media during a gathering with Argentinian President Javier Milei astatine the White House, threatening to telephone FIFA President Gianni Infantino to person the games moved to cities that bash cooperate, citing information concerns.

"We tin instrumentality them away. I emotion the radical of Boston. And I cognize the games are sold out, but the politician is not good. There are worse than her. At slightest she's intelligent. You know, immoderate are highly debased IQ. Those fuss maine more. She's intelligent, but she's extremist left," Trump said. 

U.S. President Donald Trump and archetypal woman Melania Trump successful the stands with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his woman Leena Al Ashqar during the last of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup astatine MetLife Stadium. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters via Imagn Images)

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"The reply is yes, if somebody's doing a atrocious job, and if I consciousness there's unsafe conditions, I would telephone Gianni, the caput of FIFA, who's phenomenal, and I would say, ‘Let’s determination it to different location,' and helium would bash that. He wouldn't emotion to bash it, but he'd bash it, precise easy he'd bash it. And this is the close clip to bash it." 

Boston is presently acceptable to big 7 matches erstwhile the World Cup comes to North America adjacent summer. The slate includes 5 group-stage games, 1 Round of 32 fixture and the archetypal quarterfinal connected July 9.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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