FIFA president Gianni Infantino has reaffirmed that Iran will take part in the 2026 World Cup, insisting that football must remain above the geopolitical tensions gripping the Middle East.

Speaking at an economic conference organised by broadcaster CNBC, Infantino said Iran’s place at the expanded 48-team tournament is not in doubt, despite the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

“Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation, which would definitely help,” he said, stressing that qualification on the pitch cannot be undone by events off it.

Infantino underlined that Iran’s national team, which has secured its spot at the finals, represents millions of supporters who expect to see their country on football’s biggest stage. “Iran has to come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play,” he added, referring also to Iran’s upcoming fixtures on US soil in June.

The FIFA chief has been consistent on this stance. Earlier, during an Iran–Costa Rica friendly in Antalya, Turkey, he dismissed suggestions that Iranian players might not be safe in the United States, after comments from US President Donald Trump raised concerns over security and political tensions.

Iran is scheduled to play all three of its Group G matches in the United States, with two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. The team’s tournament base is set for Tucson, Arizona, placing the squad at the heart of a country with which Tehran has had fraught relations for decades.

Tehran had previously floated the idea of boycotting the tournament and formally asked FIFA to move its matches from the United States to Mexico. World football’s governing body rejected that request, holding firm to the original hosting plan shared by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Against a backdrop of air strikes, retaliatory attacks and a fragile truce, tensions have spilled into strategic waterways, with Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz and Washington imposing a blockade on shipping linked to Iranian ports.

Infantino, however, framed the World Cup as a rare space for dialogue. “Sports should be outside of politics,” he said. “If there’s nobody else that believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, we are doing the job.”

The 2026 World Cup will be the first edition to feature 48 teams, further amplifying its global reach and the symbolic weight of Iran’s participation.