Although it had announced its intention not to participate in the World Cup, the Iranian Federation is trying to get FIFA to relocate its 2026 World Cup group matches to Mexico, while the governing body intends to maintain the initial schedule in the United States.

The Iranian Football Federation is "negotiating" with FIFA to play its first-round matches of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico rather than the United States, the Iranian embassy in Mexico claimed on Monday, though FIFA has not confirmed this. "Given that (US President Donald) Trump has clearly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not be going to the United States," said the head of the Iranian federation, Mehdi Taj, in comments reported on the embassy's Twitter account.

"We are in negotiations with FIFA to have Iran's World Cup matches take place in Mexico," he added.

When contacted by AFP, the world football governing body indicated that it was "in regular contact with all participating federations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to discuss planning" for the World Cup.

On the other hand, far from confirming the possible relocation of the matches from Iran, FIFA says it is "delighted" to see all the teams "play the tournament in accordance with the schedule of matches announced on December 6, 2025", planning a first round entirely in the United States for "Team Melli".

Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, for his part, denounced on Monday "the lack of cooperation from the American government in issuing visas and providing logistical support" to the Iranian delegation before the World Cup, in a statement released on the mission's website.

He added that he himself had "suggested to FIFA that Iran's matches be moved from the United States to Mexico."

Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in the first round of the World Cup in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle. Their tournament base camp is expected to be located in Tucson, Arizona.

While stating that the Iranian team was "welcome" in the United States, co-hosts of the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, Donald Trump had stated last week that the Iranian players would not be "safe" on American soil, without specifying the threats against them.

Previously, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had claimed that the US president had promised to host the Iranian national team. "No one can exclude the Iranian national team from the World Cup," Team Melli responded on their Instagram account.

Mexico is ready to host Iran matches during the 2026 World Cup, should a request be made due to the conflict between the United States and the Islamic Republic, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday, March 17.

Asked at a press conference about reports that Iran was negotiating the relocation of the tournament with FIFA, Ms. Sheinbaum confirmed that her country might respond favorably. When contacted earlier by AFP on the matter, FIFA did not confirm that such a project was under discussion.

Israel, together with the United States, launched a major offensive against the Islamic Republic on February 28, which responded with waves of missiles and drones on Israeli territory and on American targets in countries in the region.