An envoy to President Donald Trump has lobbied FIFA to replace Iran at this summer’s World Cup with former champions Italy, who failed to qualify for the third successive time last month, according to a report.
Iran’s participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, has been cast into doubt by the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on the country that erupted on February 28, which prompted a wave of retaliatory strikes by Tehran on its Gulf neighbor states and has driven up global oil prices.
