Iran's sports minister said Iran might not play in the World Cup. This news made many people surprised. FIFA is looking for other teams. The situation is hard because of problems near Iran.
Attacks happened on February 28th. Iran's leader died. This made more fighting. The minister said it is not good for Iran to play now. One country playing is a co-host. This was said on Wednesday. FIFA's president said something different before.
Iran played well last year. They will play New Zealand first. Los Angeles is a co-host city. But the fighting makes plans hard. If Iran does not play, it is sad. A former FIFA person said this is new. FIFA has rules.
Teams usually get punished for leaving. But because of the fighting, FIFA might be nice. They may not punish Iran. This could be a new thing.
FIFA will pick a new team. They have rules for this. They can pick a team from far away. Or they might pick no team. Iran leaving is a big problem. FIFA must think about sports and countries. The World Cup starts soon. The world watches.