President Of Iran’s Soccer Federation Says World Cup Participation In US Is In Doubt

Dubai, March 2: The president of Iran’s soccer federation says he does not know if the national team can play World Cup matches in the United States following the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of his country.

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 as Iran traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the bombardment.

The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day on Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.

The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the U.S. in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration. FIFA did not immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press over the current situation regarding Iran’s participation in the World Cup.