Fact Check: Did Trump announce plans to attend Iran's FIFA World Cup match?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the ongoing FIFA World Cup, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming to show a post by President Donald Trump in which he announced that he would be attending the upcoming match involving Iran, sparking a range of reactions from online users. Let us analyse the origins of the viral claim and fact-check it.
Claim: Donald Trump announced attending Iran FIFA match
The viral claim emerged following the emergence of a screenshot of an alleged post by the president on his official Truth Social account, where he announced attending the upcoming match between Iran and New Zealand, which is set to take place in Los Angeles.
The purported post states, “Very important game. Iran vs New Zealand, fantastic countries. I'll be there. FREE IRAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! -President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The alleged post drew mixed reactions from online users, with many appearing to believe it was authentic, while a few others dismissed it as fake and called for a fact-check.
Fact Check: Donald Trump never made such post
However, the screenshot is fake as no such post exists on Trump’s social media accounts. A search on his official Truth Social account for the alleged remark showed no results. There are also no posts on his other social media handles that match the alleged text in the screenshot.
A search on Google for the remark yielded no credible reports by prominent news media outlets about the president making such a statement, which, if true, would not go unreported.
Moreover, the screenshot was first posted by a popular parody account on X called ‘Hoops Crave.’ Hence, the post was intended as satire for the sake of engagement.
A fact check by Grok confirmed this, stating, “No, this is fake. The image is satirical content from a parody account (HoopsCrave). President Trump has made no such statement about attending the Iran vs New Zealand match."
"Earlier this year, he commented on Iran's participation in the World Cup amid tensions, but there's zero evidence he said he'd be there for this game.”
Iran says their FIFA participation is gesture of peace
Iran's ambassador to Mexico has said his country's decision to send its national football team to the US for the 2026 FIFA World Cup should be viewed as a gesture of peace, even as both nations continue negotiations aimed at ending months of conflict.
Speaking at the FIFA Fan Festival in Mexico City, Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh said Iran's participation in the tournament demonstrates that it has "no problem with the American nation."
