Tehran Times - Team Melli have moved up one spot to 33rd in the latest FIFA world ranking released on Thursday.
The Iranian national football team still are the best Asian football team.
Australia are second, followed by Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Germany retain top spot in all confederations ahead of Brazil.
Iceland have climbed to an all-time high position of 18th in the latest ranking.
Iran’s opponents in Group B of the 2018 World Cup Portugal and Spain are third and sixth respectively.
Morocco also sit at 42nd place in the ranking.
There was some significant movement further down the order, though, with Venezuela (48th, up 4), Hungary (49th, up 5) and Jamaica (50th, up 5) all entering the top 50 at the expense of Cameroon (51st, down 6), Ghana (54th, down 4), and Burkina Faso (57th, down 13).
The next edition of FIFA’s ranking list is due to be published on March 15, 2018.