Iran will “boycott the United States” but “not the World Cup”, the Iranian football federation president, Mehdi Taj, said in a video released by the Iranian press agency Fars.

Iran are scheduled to play their group matches in the US in this summer’s tournament. “We will be preparing for the World Cup,” Taj said. “We will boycott the United States but not the World Cup.”

Iran’s football federation said this week it had opened talks with Fifa about potentially relocating the team’s matches from the US to Mexico, though the global governing body has maintained that the tournament’s schedule remains unchanged.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Tuesday that her country was prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches if required, owing to the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s participation at the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on the country last month, with Donald Trump warning that the safety of Iranian players would be at risk if they travelled to the tournament.

Sheinbaum, asked whether Mexico was open to hosting the matches, said: “Yes.” She added: “Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what Fifa decides.”

Iran are scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle. Iran would be due to meet the US in the last 32 in ­Dallas if they finish as runners-up in their respective groups.

A source offered the view to the Guardian this week that the US and Iran appeared to be engaged in a game of brinkmanship, with each attempting to create the conditions to force a withdrawal they can blame on their opponents, with Fifa caught in the middle.

Source: AFP and the Guardian

--Agencies