The World Economic Forum (WEF) has uninvited Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi from its annual meeting in Davos.
Today, the WEF posted on its official X account that “The Iranian foreign minister will not be attending Davos.
“Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian Government to be represented at Davos this year.”
The WEF also deleted an information page for a public talk event with Araghchi under the theme “How can we co-operate in a more contested world?”
Revelations yesterday that Araghchi would be attending the WEF – and had been invited on stage – had caused an outburst of criticism of the Geneva-based organisation.
US Senator Lindsey Graham said: “I am sure [this invite] will be a morale booster to the protestors who are dying in the streets to attain the liberties and freedoms Europe takes for granted – maybe not.
“For those in charge of these programmes, what the hell are you thinking? I cannot think of a worse message to send to the protestors.”
Graham added that European elites had lost their moral compass, continuing: “This is the strongest sign yet of moral decay when it comes to people who enjoy freedom and abandoning those who are struggling for it. Inviting the Iranian Foreign Minister to speak now would be akin to inviting Hitler to a world event after Kristallnacht.
“This decision gives ‘tone deaf’ a new meaning.”
Others echoed Graham’s criticism.
Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), an NGO combatting the threats posed by the Islamic regime in Tehran, said his organisation had written to the WEF, asking that the invitation for Araghchi would be withdrawn.
Brodsky added: “The message WEF is sending: You can shoot Iranians in the eyes and genitals, murder thousands of them and shut off the internet for your people but still be welcomed in Davos that same month.
“WEF’s theme this year is ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’. Instead of dialogue, the Islamic Republic offered bullets to these brave Iranians. Absolutely appalling. The Munich Security Conference disinvited him in February, WEF should as well.”
Zineb Riboua, a researcher at the Conservative American Hudson Institute, accused the WEF of promoting “Institutionalised Third-Worldism”, which she described as reflexively elevating anti-US positions.
“Inviting someone who explicitly supports the massacres of his own fellows is a disgrace, but they don’t see it that way, they see a noble anti-US activist worth promoting,” she said.
The 63-year-old Araghchi was appointed foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran in August 2024. He had joined the ministry in 1989.
During the ongoing mass protests in Iran that the Islamist regime is brutally trying to suppress, Araghchi sparked outrage by blaming the protests on “sabotage by terrorist elements”. He also downplayed the number of people killed by regime forces which, according to most recent estimates, number several thousand.
Brussels Signal reached out to the WEF but had not heard back at the time of writing.
