Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (File photo)
Iran’s foreign minister will skip this week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, with organisers saying on Monday that his presence would be inappropriate in the wake of Iran’s recent deadly crackdown on protesters.Abbas Araghchi had been listed as a speaker for Tuesday at the annual gathering of political and business leaders in the Swiss ski resort. However, pressure mounted on organisers after rights activists urged them to withdraw the invitation, citing what they described as a “massacre” of civilians inside Iran.
Confirming the decision on X, the World Economic Forum said: “The Iranian Foreign Minister will not be attending Davos.” It added: “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.”Iran has been gripped by unrest since late December, when demonstrations driven by economic grievances spread rapidly across the country. The protests were widely viewed as one of the most serious challenges faced by the Iranian leadership in recent years. Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, accompanied by a communications blackout that began on January 8. The protests have since largely subsided.Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it has verified the deaths of 3,428 protesters allegedly killed by security forces. According to the group, the figures are based on information from Iran’s health and medical system, eyewitnesses and other independent sources.The organisation cautioned that the actual death toll is likely to be significantly higher. The numbers cannot be independently verified by media outlets, and Iranian officials have not released an official casualty figure.
