Iran’s football federation said on Saturday that the men’s national team will participate in the 2026 World Cup, but demanded that joint hosts of the United States, Mexico and Canada meet its conditions amid the intensified tensions in the Middle East.
"We will definitely participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts must take our concerns into account,” the Iranian Federation said on its official website.
Previously, Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said that to ensure the Iranian team is properly treated during the tournament, Iran has 10 demands, including the smooth visa issuance and entry for Iranian team personnel, respect for Iranian team personnel, the Iranian flag, and the national anthem during the tournament, and high-level security protection for Iranian team personnel.
Iran has been drawn in Group G for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
The team is scheduled to open its campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by a match against Belgium at the same venue on June 21. Its final group match is set for June 26 against Egypt in Seattle.
Iran sets conditions for 2026 World Cup participation
China's economic development picked up steadily in April, with key indicators pointing to broad-based improvements in infrastructure activity and a sharp move of capital toward advanced technology sectors, according to the data released Sunday by the State Information Center(SIC), a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The data showed that in the investment landscape, the average operating rate of national construction machinery rose by 3.6 percentage points month on month in April.
Port logistics, heavy lifting, and civil construction all recorded rebounds, signaling steady progress in infrastructure construction.
Concrete equipment, as key construction machinery, saw a notable rebound in activity, with its operating rate increasing by around 5 percentage points both year on year and month on month.
"Municipal infrastructure, transport projects, industrial parks, urban renewal -- all types of projects are being rolled out across the board. For major projects in various regions, efforts are being made to seize the construction window and accelerate the pace. This also reflects that physical investment in infrastructure, industry, and urban construction is picking up speed, and investment vitality is steadily improving," said Shen Chunfeng, a big data expert from iRootech, a company that helps businesses achieve intelligent transformation by applying technologies such as industrial intelligence and embodied intelligent robots.
April marks the peak construction season in many regions.
More than 10 provinces and municipalities, including Anhui, Beijing, Ningxia, and Zhejiang, ranked among the top in terms of comprehensive operating rates. "Domestic engineering construction is moving from localized improvement to nationwide pickup. The coverage of projects starting work has expanded greatly, market activity is broadening, and the positive trend in real economy investment and infrastructure construction is further consolidating," said Shen.
Investment is also moving faster from traditional sectors toward new arenas.
According to fresh data from the SIC, capital investment in frontier areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robots jumped 175.2 percent year on year in April.
The value of winning bids for infrastructure projects in data, computing power, and networks rose 61.7 percent year on year, continuing to activate new drivers of economic growth.
"In April, China saw strong investment momentum in frontier fields. Investment activity in digital infrastructure grew rapidly, and the ability of sectors such as AI to attract capital is notable. This shows that, with coordinated efforts from both the government and the market, investment is concentrating more quickly on new tracks -- providing a strong boost to the development of new quality productive forces and steadily strengthening the foundations for high-quality economic development," said Xing Yuguan, an associate researcher of the Big Data Development Department under the SIC.
China’s economic momentum strengthens as infrastructure activity rises, frontier investment surges
