Iran’s Foreign Minister Condemns Davos Ban, Questions WEF’s Moral Consistency
Dubai: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has sharply criticized the World Economic Forum (WEF) for rescinding his invitation to attend this year’s annual meeting in Davos, accusing the organization of applying “blatant double standards” and yielding to Western pressure following Iran’s crackdown on recent protests.
The WEF confirmed that Araghchi will not attend the summit, which runs until January 23, stating that although he had been invited last autumn, “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.”
Responding in a post on X, Araghchi rejected the forum’s justification, claiming his participation had been cancelled “on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its US-based proxies and apologists.”
The Iranian foreign minister also questioned the WEF’s decision to maintain an invitation for Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whom he said faced international accusations of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. He described this contrast as evidence of what he termed the forum’s “blatant double standards.”
Araghchi further referred to Herzog’s participation in the Davos meeting in January 2024, despite legal complaints filed against the Israeli president in Switzerland over Israel’s conduct during the Gaza war, which killed around 71,000 people.
“If WEF wants to feign a supposedly ‘moral’ stance, that is its prerogative. But it should at least be consistent about it,” Araghchi wrote, adding that the decision reflected “moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy.”
According to the WEF programme, President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to take part in a moderated discussion at the forum on Thursday.
