US secretary of state Marco Rubio says Washington has no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)."Nothing from the US has told them they can't come," Rubio told reporters overnight.US President Donald Trump also said his administration "would not want to affect the athletes" in comments he made at the White House.The 2026 World Cup is set to begin on 11 June across the United States, Mexico and Canada."The problem with Iran would be not their athletes A Truth Social post from Trump in mid-March read: "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety."After the start of the war in the Middle East, Iran asked that FIFA move the team's three group matches from the US to Mexico, which was rejected.Paolo Zampolli, a Trump envoy who has no official connection with the World Cup, had suggested on Thursday that Italy, which missed a third straight World Cup after it lost a European playoff to Bosnia and Herzegovina in March, should replace Iran at the tournament.Italy's sports minister Andrea Abodi said on Thursday that a reinstatement of Italy "first, is not possible; second, is not appropriate, you qualify on the pitch", according to Italian news agencies ANSA and AGI.That view was echoed by the president of Italy's Olympic committee, Luciano Buonfiglio."I would feel offended