Claudia Sheinbaum Archives

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s participation at this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the war began last month, with President Donald Trump warning that Iranian players’ safety would be at risk if they travelled to the U.S.

Iran’s football federation has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches from the United States, though the global governing body has so far maintained that the tournament’s schedule remains unchanged.

Asked directly if Mexico was open to hosting the matches, and if the decision will purely come down to FIFA logistics, Sheinbaum told a press conference: “Yes.”

“Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides,” she added.

Iran’s place at the tournament was thrown into question after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive offensive against the Islamic Republic, which responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli territory and American targets across the Middle East.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino initially said that Trump had given assurances that the Iranian team — scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle — would still be welcome.

But the Republican president then triggered uproar last week after stating that Iran’s football team should not travel to the tournament “for their own life and safety”.

Iran hit back at Trump’s comments saying that “no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup”.

Iran were the second Asian team after Japan to qualify for the World Cup, securing their place almost a year ago as they topped their qualifying group.

On Monday, Iranian soccer chief Mehdi Taj wrote on social media: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.

“We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”

Iranian soccer authorities “are currently discussing with FIFA whether it is feasible — since they were originally scheduled to go to the United States — to see if they can” move Iran’s games to Mexico, confirmed Sheinbaum. “The matter is under review and we will provide an update in due course.”

When contacted by AFP on the matter, FIFA said it was “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025”.

“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” a spokesperson said.

The Iran team’s base camp for the tournament is currently slated to be located in Tucson, Arizona.

Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, on Monday denounced “the U.S. government’s lack of cooperation regarding visa issuance and the provision of logistical support” for the Iranian delegation ahead of the World Cup, in a statement published on the embassy’s website.

Should Iran not take part in the World Cup, it is not yet clear which country might replace them. (JapanToday)

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides.

The agreement in principle put on Trump’s table last Wednesday involved a 10% tariff, five times the pre-Trump tariff, which the bloc already described as “pain”.

EU trade ministers will meet on Monday for a pre-arranged summit and will be under pressure from some countries to show a tough reaction by implementing €21bn ($24.6bn) in retaliatory measures, which they had paused until midnight the same day.

In his letter to Mexico’s leader, Trump acknowledged that the country had been helpful in stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States.

But, he said, the country had not done enough to stop North America from turning into a “Narco-Trafficking Playground”.

“We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and we have concluded we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies, and Trade Barriers,” Trump wrote in the letter to the EU. “Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”

Claudia Sheinbaum said on Saturday she is sure an agreement can be reached before Trump’s threatened tariffs take effect on 1 August.

Speaking during an event in the Mexican state of Sonora, the Mexican president added that Mexico’s sovereignty is never negotiable.

The higher-than-expected rate has dealt a blow to the EU’s hopes of de-escalation and a trade deal and could risk a trade war with goods of low margins including Belgian chocolate, Irish butter and Italian olive oil.

The EU was informed of the tariff hike before Trump’s declaration on social media.

In a letter to the EU, Trump warned that the EU would pay a price if they retaliated: “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs and retaliate, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 30% that we charge.”

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the 30% rate would “disrupt transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic”.

She said the bloc was one of the more open trading places in the world, and still hoped to persuade Trump to climb down.

“We remain ready to continue working towards an agreement by August 1. At the same time, we will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required,” she said.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, called on the bloc to “resolutely defend European interests”. Expressing Paris’s “very strong disapproval” of Trump’s announcement, Macron urged the EU to “step up the preparation of credible countermeasures by mobilising all instruments at its disposal” if the two sides failed to reach agreement by 1 August.

Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, called on the EU to “negotiate in a pragmatic manner”, while the Federation of German Industries (BDI) warned that a trade conflict between the two partners “harms economic recovery, innovation strength, and ultimately confidence in international cooperation.”

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for “goodwill … to reach a fair agreement that can strengthen the west as a whole. It would make no sense to trigger a trade war between the two sides of the Atlantic.” She added that both sides should avoid “polarisation”.

The decision to hike the tariffs will also be another test of Trump’s ability to act in good faith in negotiations.

Brussels will view the latest threat as a maneuver by Trump to extract more concessions from the EU, which he once described as “nastier” than China when it came to trade.

Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament’s trade committee, said on Saturday that Brussels should react immediately with countermeasures against Trump’s “outrageous” threat to hike tariffs on imports from the European Union.

The EU had been negotiating intensively with Washington for more than three weeks and had made concessions, said Lange.

“It is brazen and disrespectful to increase the tariffs on European goods announced on April 2 from 20% to 30%,” Lange told Reuters.

“This is a slap in the face for the negotiations. This is no way to deal with a key trading partner.”

While Trump indicated earlier this week that his new rates, also levelled against big economies including Japan, South Korea and Brazil, will not apply until 1 August, his latest tactic will create much distrust.

Europe should make it clear that these “unfair trade practices” were unacceptable, Lange said. (Guardian)

Tag: Claudia Sheinbaum

Mexico prepared to host Iran World Cup games, says president

Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico