Washington
\nIran says no one can exclude it from the football World Cup later this year, in response to President Donald Trump\u2019s warning that the team\u2019s \u201clife and safety\u201d would be at risk in the United States. The Iranian team also said in the social media post on Thursday that the US should not be allowed to co-host the tournament if it could not guarantee the safety of the teams taking part.
\nTrump\u2019s comments came just two days after he told FIFA chief Gianni Infantino the Iranian players would be welcome, despite the Middle East war.
\n\u201cThe Iran National Football Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don\u2019t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.
\nIran\u2019s team responded: \u201cThe World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA \u2014 not any individual, country.
\n\u201cIran\u2019s national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament.
\n\u201cCertainly no one can exclude Iran\u2019s national team from the World Cup; the only country that can be excluded is one that merely carries the title of \u2018host\u2019 yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.\u201d
\nThe war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran\u2019s participation at this summer\u2019s tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
\nTrump later posted another message on his social media platform to emphasise that the event would be safe for players and spectators from around the world.
\n\u201cThe United States of America looks very much forward to hosting the FIFA World Cup,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cTicket sales are \u2018through the roof!\u2019\u201d
\nThe social media spat comes after the country\u2019s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said the team would not be participating after the \u2060US killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
\n\u201cConsidering that this corrupt \u2060regime [the US] has \u2060assassinated our leader, under no circumstances \u2060can we \u2060participate in \u2060the World Cup,\u201d the minister told \u200cstate television on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington Iran says no one can exclude it from the football World Cup later this year, in response to President Donald Trump\u2019s warning that the team\u2019s \u201clife and safety\u201d would be at risk in the United States. The Iranian team also said in the social media post on Thursday that the US should not be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-536478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n