A participação do Irã na Copa do Mundo de 2026 ainda não está confirmada pelo governo do país. O ministro do Esporte e da Juventude, Ahmad Donyamali, afirmou que a seleção pode ficar fora do torneio caso não receba garantias de segurança para atuar nos Estados Unidos.

“Devemos estar preparados, mas é possível que não participemos da Copa do Mundo. A decisão final será tomada pelo governo e pelo Conselho Supremo de Segurança Nacional”, disse Donyamali à agência iraniana Tasnim. Em março, ele já havia afirmado que o Irã não disputaria a competição.

A incerteza ocorre em meio aos conflitos envolvendo Irã, Israel e Estados Unidos. Como os jogos da seleção iraniana estão marcados para território norte-americano, o governo do país passou a cobrar garantias para a viagem da delegação.

O Irã chegou a pedir à Fifa que suas partidas fossem transferidas para o México, uma das sedes do Mundial. A entidade, porém, manteve os compromissos nas cidades previstas inicialmente.

“A seleção realizará um período de treinamento em um país vizinho [Turquia] nas próximas três semanas. Se a segurança dos membros da seleção nos Estados Unidos for garantida, viajaremos para lá para participar da Copa do Mundo de 2026”, afirmou Donyamali.

O presidente da Fifa, Gianni Infantino, disse que o Irã estará na Copa. Pelo regulamento da entidade, uma seleção que abandona a competição pode receber multa mínima de 250 mil francos suíços, cerca de R$ 1,6 milhão.

Caso a desistência seja confirmada, a Fifa poderá manter o grupo com apenas três seleções ou convidar outro país para ocupar a vaga.

O Irã está no Grupo G, ao lado de Bélgica, Egito e Nova Zelândia. A estreia está marcada para 15 de junho, às 22h, contra a seleção neozelandesa, no SoFi Stadium, em Inglewood, na Califórnia.

Coordinated attacks signified a major escalation of insurgent violence in a region of West Africa where military leaders had seized power and warmed to Moscow in recent years.

The death of the defense minister, Gen. Sadio Camara, a central figure in the country’s military government, comes amid escalating violence in the region.

Mali’s defense minister was killed in attacks over the weekend by militants linked to Al Qaeda, a government spokesman said.

Naftali Bennett, a right-wing politician, and Yair Lapid, a centrist, will merge parties for a vote later this year.

The armed group JNIM claimed to have seized two key cities and destroyed the defense minister’s residence in a coordinated offensive that experts said was a major escalation in yearslong hostilities.

The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ushered in a new form of collective leadership in the country, with more power for the Revolutionary Guards.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr replaces Ali Larijani, who was killed last week in an Israeli strike. He has a history of expanding the Guards’ reach into Iran’s politics.

The Israeli military said it had killed the spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Iran warned that it could target American and Israeli military personnel.

One of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s closest confidants, Mr. Larijani emerged as the face of the government after Mr. Khamenei was killed.

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As the conflict with Iran expands and intensifies, President Trump’s options — to fight on, or to move toward declaring victory and pulling back — both carry deeply problematic consequences.

The Israeli military said it killed the brother of Ayman Mohamad Ghazali in an airstrike in Lebanon a week before the attack on the synagogue.

Iran’s new supreme leader delivered a forceful message in his first public statement since succeeding his slain father, as the Israeli military bombarded Tehran and the Lebanese capital with strikes.

“We just want to be back in our homes,” said a Lebanese man who, like many others in the latest round of fighting, has to flee.

His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had turned what was traditionally a religious affairs office into a shadowy national security juggernaut.

Many in Iran feel helpless in the face of their entrenched system, and some are becoming increasingly embittered by the fierce American and Israeli bombardment.

Opponents of the government, however, worried the new supreme leader, a son of the recently killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would rule with an iron fist like his father.

Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his father’s successor. The Pentagon announced the death of a seventh U.S. service member.

Mojtaba Khamenei takes on a role that makes him not only Iran’s spiritual leader but also the highest authority in the land.

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The succession of the slain leader’s son is seen as a signal of the Islamic republic’s defiance of Israel and the United States, and of continuity during crisis.

Iranian state media reported that the country’s top clerics have identified who will replace Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They have not released his name.

The U.S. and Israel have pounded Iran’s leadership and undercut its defense capabilities, but President Trump has offered wildly different explanations for what he hopes to achieve.

Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a close confidant of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran was determined to avenge the killing of the leader.

The waves of bombings reveal a broad effort to ravage the country’s leadership and security services.

China is learning lessons from the war in Iran. Chief among them, the United States may pose an even greater threat than Beijing thought.

If Mojtaba Khamenei is chosen by Iran’s senior clerics, it may signal a victory for hard-liners, an analyst said.

Soccer’s global governing body is grappling with a World Cup first: a tournament host going to war with a participating nation.

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Beijing has condemned the U.S.-backed strikes on Iran, a close partner. Yet with trade talks looming, it is unlikely to risk a rupture with Washington.