Trump hails G7 oil move amid Iran war

Iran will not take part in the 2026 World Cup after the United States—a co-host of the tournament—launched airstrikes alongside Israel, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.

The strikes killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and triggered a region-wide conflict.

“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali told state television.

The expanded 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19. “Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” the minister said.

“Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people,” he added.

Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, said more than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes began on February 28.

US President Donald Trump said there is “practically nothing left” to target in Iran after weeks of US and Israeli strikes.

“The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable,” Trump told Axios in a brief phone interview.

“There is practically nothing left to target,” he said, adding: “Any time I want it to end, it will end.”

Trump also said the conflict would end “soon” and that the strikes had caused more damage than initially expected.

"The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period," Trump told Axios.

"They were after the rest of the Middle East. They are paying for 47 years of death and destruction they caused. This is payback. They will not get off that easy," he said.

Iran warned oil prices could reach $200 a barrel as the war in the region continues, a spokesman for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said.

Spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Iran would not allow oil shipments that benefit the United States and its allies to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will not allow even one liter of oil for the benefit of the United States and its partners to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in a video message.

“Wait for $200 a barrel oil,” he added, saying oil prices follow regional security and accusing the United States of creating instability in the region.

Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war while shipments from other Gulf producers decline, the Wall Street Journal reported citing tanker-tracking firm Kpler.

Tankers loaded an average of about 2.1 million barrels a day of Iranian crude over the past six days, compared with around 2 million barrels a day in February, the data showed.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned ships against crossing the strait since the conflict began, prompting many operators to avoid the route.

“Almost all ships crossing the Strait are linked to Iran or China,” said Christopher Long of the Neptune P2P Group.

Iran does not have the conditions to take part in the World Cup due to security concerns after the killing of its leader in US-Israeli attacks, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday.

“Our players are not safe and fundamentally such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said, according to state media.

He said Iran therefore could not participate in the tournament.