Iran seek to have World Cup matches moved from the United States to Mexico

Iran are seeking to have their World Cup matches moved from the United States to Mexico.

The Middle East nation’s participation at this summer’s tournament in North America has been cast into doubt after the US and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, which then retaliated with attacks on US bases in other Gulf countries.

US president Donald Trump said last week he did not think it was “appropriate” for Iran to be at the World Cup “for their own life and safety”.

Now, the president of Iran’s football federation Mehdi Taj has said one solution being considered is to move the team’s matches to co-host Mexico.

“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” Taj said in a statement posted on the X account of the Iranian embassy in Mexico.

“We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”

Moving the games at this late stage would be logistically difficult, particularly considering Iran could end up in the US anyway in the knockout rounds depending on where they finish in their group.

They are currently due to play all three group matches in the US.

FIFA has been contacted for comment.

Iran’s first group opponents are New Zealand, who they are scheduled to face in Los Angeles on June 15.

The chief executive of New Zealand Football, Andrew Pragnell, told local media on Tuesday that he doubted FIFA would relocate Iran’s matches.

The New Zealand national team’s head coach, Darren Bazeley, told reporters in the country: “Right now we’re still continuing as though we’re playing Iran.

“They’re the team that qualified and we got drawn against them. That’s still the fixture and until we get told otherwise, we’ll continue with that preparation.

“Obviously, if things change, then we’ll deal with that, but that would be (people at) a higher level than myself involved in those discussions.”