Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos was canceled today.
"The Iranian Foreign Minister will not attend Davos. Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of civilian life in Iran over the past few weeks means it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year," the WEF's official account on the X social network said.
The activist organization "United Against Nuclear Iran" (UANI), whose goal is to "combat the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran," asked WEF President Borge Brende on January 15 to withdraw invitations to all Iranian officials invited to the Davos forum, including Aragchi.
"Abbas Aragchi is a long-time member of the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organization designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization responsible for organizing terrorist acts around the world. The Guard provides direct support to the military branches of Hezbollah and Hamas, which the US and EU consider terrorist organizations, and uses brutal methods, including mass executions, beatings, and rape, to suppress dissent within Iran and destabilize the Middle East and beyond," the letter to the WEF director says.
The request for the WEF to cancel Araghchi's participation also came from the US, whose President Donald Trump recently said that it was time "to seek new leadership in Iran."
Early this morning, US Senator Lindsey Graham, known to be close to Trump, condemned the invitation to the Iranian minister to participate in the Davos forum.
"You in charge of the program, what the hell were you thinking? I can't imagine a worse message to the protesters... Inviting the Iranian foreign minister to speak now would be like inviting Hitler to a world event after Kristallnacht," Graham wrote on X.
The Davos forum, which begins today, will bring together more than 3.000 participants from 130 countries, including around 400 senior political officials.
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