The World Economic Forum said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will not attend its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, after what the forum called the “tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran” in recent weeks. The decision came after criticism from advocacy groups and some politicians over giving a platform to a senior Iranian official during a violent crackdown on protests.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) said on Monday that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will not attend its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, reversing plans for him to appear at the event.
In a post on X, the WEF said Araghchi had been invited last fall but that “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.” Several outlets also reported that Araghchi had been scheduled for a one-on-one session on Tuesday.
The cancellation followed public pressure from advocacy organizations, including United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which urged WEF leadership to withdraw the invitation. In a letter cited by multiple media reports, UANI alleged that Araghchi has ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and argued that his participation would help legitimize the Iranian government during the crackdown. The letter also included a quotation attributed to Araghchi about his political role alongside IRGC members.
While news reports described the protests as having produced a large number of casualties, independent human-rights organizations have publicly documented far lower confirmed death tolls than some figures circulated by activists and commentators. For example, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said credible information indicated at least 28 protesters and bystanders were killed between December 31, 2025, and January 3, 2026, during the security forces’ response to demonstrations. Other groups have published separate tallies, and the overall scale of casualties remains difficult to verify because reporting from inside Iran has been constrained.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, criticized the original invitation as “tone deaf,” comparing it to “inviting Hitler to a world event after Kristallnacht,” according to media reports.
The WEF’s decision is an unusual public reversal for an organization that says its Davos meeting aims to serve as a platform for dialogue among governments, business leaders, and civil society at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions.