Trump said Iran ‘welcome to compete’ in World Cup, says Infantino

US President Donald Trump has said that Iran is “welcome” to participate at the upcoming World Cup in North America, despite the ongoing Middle East war, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said Wednesday.

The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran’s participation at this summer’s men’s football World Cup, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, “we also spoke about the current situation in Iran,” Infantino, the head of the world football governing body, wrote on Instagram.

“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” he wrote.

The comments marked the first time Infantino, who awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA peace prize in December, has acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Iran’s federation football chief on Tuesday cast doubt on his team’s participation in the sporting extravaganza, following the defection of several women footballers from the Islamic republic during the Asian cup in Australia.

“If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?” Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state television.

While the event is spread out across three countries, Iran are scheduled to play all three group games in the United States, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

On Tuesday, at the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia, players from Iran’s team claimed asylum.

Five players, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, slipped away from the team hotel under the cover of darkness to claim sanctuary from Australian officials, the Australian government announced.

At least two more team members applied to stay later in the day, according to local media.