Trump reportedly invites Iran to participate in World Cup, according to Infantino

US President Donald Trump has expressed a willingness to have Iran participate in the upcoming World Cup in North America, according to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, who revealed this information on Wednesday.

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This statement comes amidst the ongoing Middle East war, which was triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28 and has cast a shadow of uncertainty over Iran's potential participation in the men's football World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States this summer.

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During a meeting to discuss preparations for the tournament, Infantino and others addressed the current situation in Iran, as noted by the FIFA chief in an Instagram post.

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Infantino wrote on Instagram that President Trump reaffirmed Iran's welcome to compete in the US-based portion of the tournament during their discussions.

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This marks the first instance where Infantino has publicly acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East, and it comes after he awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA peace prize in December.

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Mehdi Taj, the chief of Iran's federation football, expressed doubts about his team's participation in the World Cup on Tuesday, citing the recent defection of several women footballers from the Islamic republic during the Asian Cup in Australia.

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Taj questioned the logic of sending the national team to participate in the tournament, given the current circumstances, during an appearance on Iranian state television, asking "If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?"

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Iran's team is scheduled to play all three of their group games in the United States, with two matches set to take place in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

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On Tuesday, at the Women's Asian Cup in Australia, five players from Iran's team, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, secretly left their hotel to claim asylum with Australian officials.

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Later that day, at least two more team members applied to stay in Australia, according to reports from local media outlets.