Captain of Iran’s National Men’s Football Team, Mehdi Taremi says his team is at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to play football and not get involved in politics.
He said this ahead of Iran’s opening game at this year’s World Cup against New Zealand on Tuesday, June 16 at 1 AM.
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been dominated by the war between the Asian nation and the United States of America.
At the time of writing, a peace agreement has been signed with the deal set to prevent the tensions further escalating.
Due to the tense relationship between the two nations, Iran who are scheduled to play all their games in the US, Iran have had their camp base moved to Mexico but Taremi says his team is focused on football and not the politics.
“We respect all Iranians, be it the Iranians who are inside the country or Iranians who are outside the country. We are here to play football, and football can always unite all factions.”
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we respect them, but we are here to bring joy to the Iranian people. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football” Taremi said.
