Irans's players pose for a team photo before an Asian group A qualifying soccer match against North Korea for the 2026 World Cup, June 10, 2025, at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, file)2026-03-12T16:01:20Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said he did not think it would be appropriate for the Iranian soccer team to attend this years World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, and cited safety concerns as a reason on Thursday while the countries remained embroiled in a war.The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, Trump wrote on his social media site, but I really dont believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.Iranian leaders said earlier this week that its not possible for the country to participate in the World Cup.Trumps message appears to depart somewhat from what the Republican president relayed Tuesday at the White House to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who later publicly said that Trump assured him the Iranian players and coaches would be welcome. AP AUDIO: Trump discourages Iranian soccer team from attending the World Cup, citing safety concerns AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports President Trump is discouraging Irans national soccer team from taking part in the World Cup. A White House official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations, had confirmed Trumps message to Infantino about Irans participation. On Thursday, the White House did not immediately clarify what Trump meant by their own life and safety, such as whether he anticipated threats against them while in the United States after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began Feb. 28. Iran, one of 48 teams in the tournament, is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. Irans soccer federation has planned to take the team in June to a tournament base camp in Arizona, at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson.Since June, Iran has been subject to a travel ban into the U.S. as part of the Trump administrations immigration crackdown. But athletes and coaches from the target nations are exempt, which means the Iranian team would be allowed to enter the U.S. But there are also likely fears from Iranian soccer players about playing in a tournament abroad where they could be feted by an anti-regime diaspora while their families face threats back home.The Iranian womens soccer team, which arrived in Australia to play at its Asian Cup tournament before the U.S. and Israeli bombing attacks on Iran started, did not sing the Iranian national anthem before its first game. That was widely interpreted as a gesture of protest or an act of mourning. Several members of the team stayed in Australia on humanitarian visas afterward. At the 2022 mens World Cup, played in Qatar, the Iranian team did not sing the anthem before a game against England and did not celebrate the two goals scored in a 6-2 loss. At that time, Iran was in turmoil several weeks after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly violating a strict Islamic dress code.FIFAs own evaluation was low risk for World Cup safety and security plans proposed by the U.S., Canada and Mexico soccer federations, which are guaranteed by their governments. Trump has often taken credit for winning the World Cup hosting rights in 2018, when the three neighbors easily beat Morocco in a vote by FIFA member federations. All parties have experience of hosting major sports events on a regular basis and established arrangements are in place for managing security and safety at stadiums and for high-profile individuals, FIFAs in-house inspection team wrote eight years ago.Iranian athletes who previously defied the Islamic regime have left the country to continue their careers.Irans first female athlete to win an Olympic medal, Kimia Alizadeh, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in taekwondo, criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf. She competed for the Olympic refugee team at Tokyo in 2021 and for Bulgaria at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Judoka Saeid Mollaei went into hiding in Germany after a dispute with Iranian team officials at the 2019 world championships. Mollaei, the defending champion, said he was ordered to lose a bout to avoid a potential gold medal match against an Israeli opponent. He got Mongolian citizenship and took silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.___Dunbar reported from Geneva. SEUNG MIN KIM Kim covers the White House for The Associated Press. She joined the AP in 2022 and is based in Washington. Kim is also a political analyst for CNN. twitter mailto GRAHAM DUNBAR Dunbar is an Associated Press sports news reporter in Geneva, Switzerland. He focuses on the governing bodies, institutions and politics of international sports. twitter mailto