The ban didn’t mention the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud chairs a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from a group of Arab and Islamic countries in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Thursday, March 19, 2026.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers “hostile,” Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC’s scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia.Russian man sentenced to 4 years in UK prison for assault witnessed on video by Barron TrumpA whale stranded at a Baltic Sea resort has swum off a sandbank. But it isn’t safe yetThe ban announced by Iran’s Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn’t mention the World Cup, which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The ministry’s statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It’s a playoff game in the “The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it said.Tractor’s playoff game in Saudi Arabia was the result of the Asian Football Confederation’s draw Wednesday to determine the quarterfinal pairings, a day after announcing that theThe Saudi city is also slated to host the tournament quarterfinals, semifinals and final from April 16-25, with organizers setting the dates and hoping for peace in the region. The Iranian ministry added that the soccer federation and clubs “will be responsible for notifying the Asian Football Confederation of this matter in order to relocate the games.”The Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s three group-stage matches from the United States to Mexico after U.S. President Donald Trump Last week, however, FIFA President Gianni Infantino further dampened Iran’s attempts to move its World Cup matches, saying global soccer’s governing body wants the tournament “to go ahead as scheduled.”but that it is not possible for the national team to come to the U.S. because of military attacks on the country by Israel and U.S. since Feb. 28.What to know about the planned Saturday, March 28 ‘No Kings’ protests in Southern CaliforniaUCLA faces questions after falling short of the Sweet 16Things to do in the San Fernando Valley, LA area, March 26-April 3Mayor Bass announces initiative to install 60,000 solar-powered street lights citywide
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