Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Iran cannot participate in the FIFA World Cup after the United States killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the country’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali. ‘Considering that this corrupt regime [the US] has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,’ the minister told state television on Wednesday. The US will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, but all of Iran’s group-stage fixtures are allocated to American cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.” (03/11/26)