New York, New York - President Donald Trump has said that Iran is "welcome" to participate at the upcoming World Cup despite his ongoing war on the country, FIFA chief Gianni Infantino claimed on Wednesday.

The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran's participation at the men's soccer World Cup this summer, jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US.

During a meeting to discuss preparations for the competition, "we also spoke about the current situation in Iran," Infantino wrote on Instagram.

"During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States."

The comments marked the first time that Infantino, who in December created a FIFA peace prize and awarded it to Trump, has acknowledged the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Trump's alleged remarks would be a stark contrast to recent comments to Politico, whom he told, "I really don't care" when asked about Iran participating in the World Cup.

FIFA's president has attached himself to Trump since the Republican returned to the White House, even attending his inauguration.

Iran's federation football chief on Tuesday cast doubt on his team's participation in the soccer extravaganza, following the defection of several female players from the Islamic republic during the Asian Cup in Australia.

"If the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?" Mehdi Taj asked on Iranian state TV, after multiple players received asylum.