{"id":6251,"date":"2026-04-24T09:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/us-says-iran-can-play-at-2026-world-cup-but-bars-those-with-irgc-ties\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:36:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:36:02","slug":"us-says-iran-can-play-at-2026-world-cup-but-bars-those-with-irgc-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/us-says-iran-can-play-at-2026-world-cup-but-bars-those-with-irgc-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"US says Iran can play at 2026 World Cup but bars those with \u2018IRGC ties\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US has not told the Iranian national team that it cannot play.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he added the players will not be allowed to bring people with ties to Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with them.<\/p>\n<p>Since the United States-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran\u2019s participation in this summer\u2019s edition of FIFA\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/22\/five-major-issues-affecting-the-fifa-world-cup-with-50-days-to-go\">global showpiece<\/a> has been in doubt because all of the country\u2019s group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the United States.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/22\/five-major-issues-affecting-the-fifa-world-cup-with-50-days-to-go\">What are five key issues 50 days ahead of the World Cup?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/23\/why-are-fifa-world-cup-2026-tickets-so-expensive\">Why are FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets so expensive?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/23\/aclu-amnesty-lead-120-rights-groups-issuing-us-world-cup-travel-advisory\">ACLU, Amnesty lead 120 rights groups issuing US World Cup \u2018travel advisory\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cNothing from the US has told them they can\u2019t come,\u201d Rubio told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey can\u2019t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,\u201d Rubio added.<\/p>\n<p>Washington has designated the IRGC as a \u201cforeign terrorist organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>US President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Rubio, added that his administration \u201cwould not want to affect the athletes\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the US, Mexico and Canada.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/INTERACTIVE-Football-FIFA-How-teams-are-group-World-Cup-2026-1776670778.png?quality=80\" alt=\"INTERACTIVE-Football FIFA How teams are group World Cup 2026-1776670778\" data-interactive=\"true\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/p>\n<p>Speculation about Iran\u2019s participation has been rife, with officials from both Iran and the US weighing in.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement on Wednesday, however, Iran\u2019s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said all necessary arrangements for the team\u2019s participation in the tournament have been ensured by the Ministry of Sports and Youth.<\/p>\n<p>An envoy for Trump, though, has been quoted as suggesting that Italy, who failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight edition, should replace Iran at this year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American who is \u2060a US envoy for global relations, told The Financial Times that he made the suggestion to both Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a US-hosted tournament. With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion,\u201d Zampolli, who has no official connection with the World Cup \u2060or Italian football, said earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p>Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/23\/italy-officials-say-replacing-iran-at-world-cup-2026-would-be-shameful\">rebuked<\/a> the idea, saying \u201cit \u200cis not appropriate \u2026 You qualify on the pitch,\u201d while Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti described the concept as \u201cshameful\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Iran qualified for a fourth successive World Cup last year but, after the start of the war, requested that FIFA move the team\u2019s three group matches from the US to Mexico \u2013 a suggestion that was rejected.<\/p>\n<p>Iran is now seemingly \u2060<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/22\/iran-says-fully-prepared-for-football-teams-world-cup-participation\">proceeding<\/a> as planned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are preparing and making arrangements for the World Cup, but we are obedient to the \u2060decisions of the authorities,\u201d Iranian football federation President Mehdi Taj told reporters at a pro-government rally in Tehran on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US has not told the Iranian national team that it cannot play. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington has no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he added the players will not be allowed to bring people with ties &#8230; <a title=\"US says Iran can play at 2026 World Cup but bars those with \u2018IRGC ties\u2019\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/us-says-iran-can-play-at-2026-world-cup-but-bars-those-with-irgc-ties\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about US says Iran can play at 2026 World Cup but bars those with \u2018IRGC ties\u2019\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}