Iran will "boycott the United States" but "not the World Cup", Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj said in a video released by the Iranian press agency Fars. Iran is currently scheduled to play its group matches in the US in this year's tournament.

"We will be preparing for the World Cup. We will boycott the United States but not the the World Cup," Taj said in the video released on Wednesday. Iran's football federation has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches from the United States, though the global governing body has so far maintained that the tournament's schedule remains unchanged.