Arnold said the escalating conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel has disrupted logistics for Iraq’s preparations, preventing several national team players from leaving the country and forcing the cancellation of a planned training camp in Houston, Texas.

"We are asking FIFA to consider postponing the playoff until the situation stabilizes,” Arnold told reporters at a media briefing in Baghdad. "Our players want to compete, but right now movement across the region is extremely complicated.”

The coach said the team had been preparing to travel through transit hubs in Qatar and Saudi Arabia after Mexico announced measures to facilitate visas for participating teams ahead of the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, the deteriorating security environment and travel restrictions have made those plans uncertain.

The appeal came hours after Ahmad Donyamali, Iran’s sports minister, announced his country would withdraw from the 2026 World Cup because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

"Since our leader was assassinated and our nation has faced repeated attacks, we do not have the conditions to participate in a sporting tournament abroad,” Donyamali said in a televised interview with Germany’s DPA news agency. "Thousands of our citizens have died in the past months, and the priority now is national security.”

Iran had already secured qualification for the tournament, scheduled from June 11 to July 18 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Earlier Wednesday, Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, said after meeting Donald Trump in Washington that Iran would be "welcome to participate” in the tournament despite the political tensions.

The uncertainty has also raised concerns within Iran’s football leadership. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, suggested political disputes could influence sporting decisions.

In Baghdad’s Karrada district, football fans said the turmoil had overshadowed excitement about Iraq’s qualification campaign. "We have waited decades to see Iraq return to the World Cup,” said local café owner Hassan Karim, watching a replay of a recent qualifier. "It would be heartbreaking if politics or war stopped the team now.”

For Iraq, which last appeared at the World Cup in 1986, the coming weeks may determine whether a long-awaited return to football’s biggest stage remains possible.