Inter Milan forward Mehdi Taremi has been left stranded in Tehran due to the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, and will miss the start of the FIFA Club World Cup, the Italian club confirmed on Saturday.
Taremi, 32, had returned to his homeland last week for international duty and featured in Iran’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over North Korea. However, he has since been unable to secure a flight out of Iran amid mounting tensions in the region.
An Inter Milan source confirmed to AFP that the striker was still stuck in Iran and would not join the rest of the squad in Los Angeles ahead of their opening fixture.
Inter are set to begin their Club World Cup campaign on Tuesday against Mexican outfit Monterrey at the iconic Rose Bowl in Pasadena, just east of Los Angeles.
The fixture also marks a new chapter for the Nerazzurri, with Cristian Chivu taking charge for the first time after being appointed head coach earlier this week. The former Romanian international replaces Simone Inzaghi, who parted ways with the club following a humiliating 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
Speaking at his unveiling at Inter’s training base in Beverly Hills on Saturday, Chivu sought to reframe the narrative around Inter’s recent disappointments, including narrowly missing out on the Serie A title.
“We shouldn’t forget this team’s journey — it was a great season,” said the 44-year-old.
“This team has real quality. They reached the final stages, even if the trophies didn’t come. That doesn’t make it a failure.
“We eliminated Bayern and Barcelona in the Champions League. We were top of the league for a long time — one of the best sides in Europe. We must not forget that. Failure doesn’t exist in football. Failure is making excuses.”
Chivu now faces a testing debut as manager, hoping to guide a shaken Inter side past Monterrey and into the latter stages of the global tournament, all without one of their key attacking options.
