Iran cannot participate in this summer's FIFA World Cup tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, the Iranian sports minister said Wednesday.
"Given that this corrupt government has assassinated our leader and created extreme insecurity, we cannot participate in the World Cup," said Ahmad Donyamali in remarks broadcast on Iranian state television. "The players have no safety, and the conditions for participation simply don't exist."
The military campaign waged by the U.S., along with its ally Israel, began in late February. An Israeli strike on Feb. 28, partly enabled by American intelligence, killed the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other high-ranking officials. At least 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed, according to Amir Saeid Iravani, the country's ambassador to the United Nations.
The new campaign follows last year's 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran. That led to the deaths of more than 1,000 Iranians, according to the Iranian government.
"In just eight or nine months, they have dragged us into two wars, killed thousands of our people, and committed grave atrocities," Donyamali said. "Under these circumstances, attending the tournament is impossible."
The World Cup is set to run from June 11 through July 19, with the U.S. as one of three co-hosts for the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico. Most games will take place in the U.S., including all three of Iran's group stage matches, which are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles and Seattle.
It was not immediately clear whether Iran had formally withdrawn from the tournament. FIFA and the Iranian Football Federation did not immediately respond to NPR's inquiries.
After FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with President Trump on Tuesday, Infantino said in a statement that Trump had "reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States."
A team withdrawing from the World Cup so soon before it begins is without precedent in the modern era.
Under FIFA regulations, a team that withdraws from a tournament could face a fine of hundreds of thousands of dollars and a potential ban from future competition.
FIFA would have broad discretion to replace Iran in the tournament with another team, such as an alternate from the Asian Football Confederation, like Iraq or the United Arab Emirates.
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