Donald Trump has offered a pointed warning to Iran’s national soccer team ahead of the FIFA World Cup, saying that while they can take part, he questions whether it’s “appropriate.”
In a post, Trump framed his remarks around concerns for the players’ wellbeing.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
The comments drew a swift pushback from the Iranian team on Instagram, where they argued the real issue is the host nation’s ability to guarantee security for all athletes—rather than singling out one team’s presence.
“The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA – not any individual, country,” the team’s statement reads. “Iran’s national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament.”
The statement went on to suggest that, if any party should face consequences, it would be a host country unable to keep teams safe during a major international competition.
“Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event,” the statement continued.
Trump’s remarks—widely read as an effort to pressure Iran into staying away—arrive while tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high. They also come just months after the President received FIFA’s Peace Prize for what was described as work aimed at ending wars rather than initiating them.
In December 2025, Trump accepted the newly introduced honor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., roughly two months after he failed to secure a Nobel Peace Prize.
While the FIFA recognition stands on its own, critics viewed it as a symbolic gesture—an alternative accolade amid Trump’s visible interest in landing the Nobel during his second term.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of Trump’s White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup, said in a statement at the time, “The president is the consummate host.”
“Is there any other president that can handle inviting the world in and being a better host than Donald J. Trump?,” Giuliani continued.
“You definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action, for what you have obtained in your way, but you obtained it in an incredible way,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino added. “And you can always count, Mr. President, on my support, on the support of the entire … soccer community to help you make peace and make the world prosper.”
Whether peace is truly a priority remains contested. So far, Trump has not signaled that he plans to halt the ongoing conflict involving Iran, despite previously insisting the country had already been “defeated.”
Since the war began on February 28, more than 1,800 people have reportedly been killed, including at least 175 students who died after a U.S.-led strike on an Iranian elementary school, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Before Thursday’s comments about the team’s “safety,” Trump had already suggested he was indifferent about their participation.
“I really don’t care,” the president said. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.”