Iran announces that it will not participate in the upcoming World Cup in the United States: the words of the Minister of Sport.Iran has decided: it will not participate in the 2026 World Cup.The news was in the air after the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, with attacks by the United States and Israel leading to the death of Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran's retaliation against countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Now comes the announcement by Ahmad Donjamali, Iran's Minister of Sport, emphasising the impossibility for the national team to play in the US.As reported by Faz, in an article on Donald Trump's position assuring that the team will be able to participate, Donjamali announced on television that Iran would not be participating in the World Cup: "Since this corrupt government has assassinated our leader, we have no intention of participating in the World Cup." The Minister of Sport highlighted the "evil measures taken against Iran": "Two wars have been imposed on us in eight or nine months and several thousand of our citizens have been killed," as seen in the iribnews video. Donjamali concluded by reiterating: "We have absolutely no chance of participating."A cold shower for FIFA, with President Gianni Infantino writing on Instagram after a meeting at the White House with the US President to discuss the upcoming World Cup, scheduled for 11 June in Canada, the United States and Mexico: "President Trump assured me that the Iranian national team is welcome at the World Cup."Iran has withdrawn, but who can take its place in the World Cup? There is no definite answer, given that FIFA regulations allow it to choose who is repêchaged at its own discretion. This is stated in Article 6.7: "If a participating member association withdraws and/or is excluded from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, FIFA will decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take any measures it deems necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the participating association in question with another association."Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reportingCould Italy be repêchaged, should it fail in the play-offs, in place of Iran? The regulations do not rule this out, and FIFA could also reward a historic federation and four-time World Cup winner such as the FIGC. It is also possible that football's governing body could replace Iran with another AFC member association, such as Iraq, which will play a World Cup play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname.All updates in real time! Join the CALCIOMERCATO.COM WhatsApp channel: click here