GENEVA (AP) 鈥� The public wrangling between Iran, FIFA and U.S. President Donald Trump over the narrative of playing in the World Cup shifted on Tuesday to Mexico where President Claudia Sheinbaum seemed open to a suggestion by Islamic Republic diplomats that Iran’s games in June be moved to her country.
The Iranian ambassador and embassy in Mexico City said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move Iran鈥檚 three group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico after Trump last week the team from attending the , citing safety concerns.
It was already unclear whether such talks were even happening before FIFA said such unprecedented changes in World Cup history were not planned to a match schedule agreed three months ago.
Sheinbaum was asked about it Tuesday during her daily briefing.
鈥淭hey are discussing with FIFA whether it鈥檚 feasible because they were going to hold the (games) in the United States,” she said. 鈥淭hey are looking into whether they can hold (them) in Mexico, and we will inform you when the time comes. Mexico has relations with all countries in the world. We鈥檒l see what FIFA decides and then we鈥檒l announce it.鈥�
In a statement, FIFA said it is 鈥渋n regular contact with all participating member associations, including (the Islamic Republic of) Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec. 6, 2025.鈥�
The Feb. 28 start of U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran that killed the Islamic Republic鈥檚 and senior officials immediately cast doubt on the national soccer team going to play at least three World Cup games in the U.S., which is co-hosting the most watched global sports event with Mexico and Canada.
Iran’s soccer federation has not canceled its World Cup entry with FIFA, though official comments have variously suggested the U.S. is unable or unwilling to ensure the delegation’s secure arrival and accommodation.
Since last week, Trump has variously said 鈥淚 don’t really care鈥� if the Iran team comes, that it was welcome and would be treated like all players as stars, and that the players’ safety was at risk.
In comments posted late Monday on the embassy website, Iran鈥檚 Ambassador to Mexico Abolfazl Pasandideh urged FIFA to move the team鈥檚 games to Mexico, saying the U.S. was not cooperative on visas.
鈥淲e love the Mexican people very much and for us, the best situation is for our games to be held in Mexico,鈥� he was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA.
An Iranian government spokesman and have said in recent days it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup. The Iran team’s planned training camp is in Tucson, Arizona.
Pasandideh’s embassy in Mexico City also posted a attributed to national soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group-stage matches out of the U.S.
鈥淲hen Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淲e are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran鈥檚 matches in the World Cup in Mexico.鈥�
Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle .
Moving the games would be remarkable less than three months before the World Cup and risks being judged a failure in the history of tournament hosting.
It also is not envisaged by Iran’s first opponent.
New Zealand soccer federation chief executive Andrew Pragnell said Monday: 鈥淚 also don鈥檛 foresee it as remotely feasible鈥� to move scheduled games to another country. Tens of thousands of tickets have been sold for Iran games, including to visiting fans who have booked flights to the U.S.
鈥淏y trying to move the match schedule, you actually create more problems down the track,” Pragnell told New Zealand media outlet Stuff, adding “I don鈥檛 think it鈥檒l happen.鈥�
The Belgian soccer federation declined to comment Tuesday.
Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing but 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.鈥�
Iran’s mixed signals include telling state TV last week that it was not possible to play “due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.鈥�
But after Trump’s post the said on Instagram that 鈥渘o one can exclude鈥� it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed it was the of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
鈥淔IFA is the organizer of the World Cup,鈥� Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. 鈥淲hen warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.鈥�
Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people which has qualified for seven men’s World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.
FIFA has not commented in recent days beyond by president Gianni Infantino last week that he’d received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.
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Pye contributed from Brisbane, Australia. Amir-Hussein Rajdy in Cairo and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City also contributed.
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