Iran puts World Cup future in question over US treatment of IRGC

Iran has demanded that the US provide guarantees that the country’s military institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), will not be subjected to insults during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Otherwise, it may withdraw from the tournament.

The head of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran said on May 5 that the United States must issue official assurances on the matter, Caliber.Az reports, citing Iranian media.

“Americans, if they guarantee that they will not insult our military institutions and the IRGC, we will go. If they provide such a guarantee that an incident like the Canadian one will not be repeated, and they confirm it, we will go; we have absolutely no dealings with America,” Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, said.

The so-called “Canadian incident” refers to a case in which Mehdi Taj and members of the Iranian football delegation were stopped and questioned by Canadian border officials in Toronto over concerns related to their entry rights, linked to Canada’s designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

After a lengthy inspection and uncertainty over entry, the delegation was not allowed to continue its planned visit and left Canada, missing a FIFA Congress in Vancouver.

By Jeyhun Aghazada