Fifa president Gianni Infantino said today that Iran will “for sure” participate in the 2026 World Cup despite the Middle East war.

The All Whites are set to open their first World Cup campaign since 2010 against Iran on June 16 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The teams were put in Group G at the Fifa World Cup draw in December, the same event where Fifa awarded US President Donald Trump the inaugural peace prize. The USA is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

“Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation, that would definitely help,” Infantino said on broadcaster CNBC.

“But Iran has to come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play,” he said of the team’s upcoming matches scheduled in the United States in June.

Iran’s participation in the global tournament had been thrown into doubt by the war with the United States and Israel that broke out on February 28.

“Sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said.

“If there’s nobody else that believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, we are doing the job,” he continued.

The World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, starts on June 11.