00:00Iran has signaled it will not compete in this year's FIFA World Cup in North America.
00:06Sports Minister Ahmad Danyamali says the national team cannot participate after U.S. airstrikes alongside Israel killed the country's supreme
00:14leader.
00:16The 48-team tournament is scheduled to take place in the U.S., Mexico and Canada from June 11 to
00:23July 19.
00:24Iran had been one of the first teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
00:28The team was drawn in Group G alongside New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.
00:33All three of Iran's group matches were set to be played in the U.S., including two in Los Angeles
00:38and one in Seattle.
00:40Under FIFA rules, the governing body would be free to call up any other nation to replace Iran if it
00:46officially withdraws.
00:47Iran was also the only qualified team absent from a FIFA World Cup planning summit held last week in Atlanta.
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