As of early March 2026, global tensions are notably high, with the US military's DEFCON status fluctuating between Levels 3 and 4, indicating significant concern but not full wartime alert.

FIFA says it is focusing on “everybody participating” in this summer’s World Cup in the wake of the American military attack on Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes

The latest world news and headlines from Yahoo News and international publishers, breaking stories, ongoing events, and coverage

Should Iran be made to withdraw from the World Cup, it is expected that they would be replaced by the United Arab Emirates. The UAE actually finished with a worse record than Iraq in Asian qualifying, but Iraq are already set to compete in continental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname later in the spring.

As the country enters its final preparations to host the world’s biggest sporting event, some fear surviving cartel leaders may “assume a posture of total war against the Mexican state.”