Iran demands conditions for World Cup participation

Iran's football federation announced Saturday that the national team will participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held across the United States, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July, but attached a list of 10 conditions that host nations must meet before Tehran will commit fully.

The conditions include guaranteed visa access for all delegation members, respect for the Iranian flag and national anthem, and high-level security at airports, hotels and stadiums. "We will participate in the tournament but without renouncing our beliefs, our culture and our convictions," the federation stated. "No outside power can deprive Iran of its participation in a competition for which it qualified on merit."

The Revolutionary Guards problem

What the federation did not address, and what lies at the heart of the controversy, is the uncomfortable reality that several senior Iranian football officials, including federation president Mehdi Taj, have documented ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Canada designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation in 2024. The United States did so in 2019.

This is not incidental. In Iran's theocratic system, football, politics and the security apparatus are deeply intertwined. The IRGC is not merely a military force, it controls vast swathes of the Iranian economy, cultural institutions and sporting bodies. The idea that Iran's football federation operates independently of this apparatus is, to put it charitably, optimistic.

Canada demonstrated as much last month when it refused entry to the federation president ahead of the FIFA Congress, a decision that triggered the current standoff.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a careful balance, welcoming Iranian players while signalling that delegation members with IRGC ties could face visa refusals.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed Iran would play its group stage matches in the United States as planned. Iran is based in Tucson, Arizona, and faces New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G.