Iran's men's national team withdrew from the World Cup
This was announced by the country's Minister of Sports.
Iran's national football team participated in six World Cups, but never advanced from the group stage. Photo: Gao Meng/VCG via Getty Images
However, after the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran on February 28, Tehran announced the possibility of not participating in the tournament.
The Iranian team was supposed to play all its group stage matches in June in the USA: two — in Inglewood (against New Zealand and Belgium), one — in Seattle (against Egypt).