Iran Sports Minister: Nation 'Under No Circumstances' Can Participate in 2026 World Cup — Warm-Up Friendlies Cancelled

Iran Minister of Sport and Youth Ahmad Donyamali issued his most definitive statement yet on April 30, declaring that Iran 'under no circumstances' can participate in the 2026 World Cup — going beyond his April 21 'maybe the decision is not to go' language and directly contradicting the April 23 statement by government spokesperson Ali Mohajerani that Iran was 'fully prepared for effective participation.' The statement was issued hours after Iranian football federation officials were denied entry to Canada at Toronto Pearson Airport and missed the FIFA Congress. Separately, Iran's pre-tournament warm-up friendlies — scheduled to take place in the weeks before the June 11 tournament opening — were cancelled without explanation, removing a key mechanism for the squad to maintain fitness and team cohesion before the tournament. FourFourTwo confirmed the cancellations. The combination of federation leadership denied entry to the FIFA Congress, the Sports Minister's unequivocal language, and the cancelled friendlies represented the most severe convergence of signals yet that Iran will formally withdraw before the June 1 squad submission deadline. Iran would be the first country to withdraw from a World Cup after qualifying since 1950. No replacement team has been publicly identified by FIFA, though Iraq and the UAE were cited as the most likely AFC candidates.