From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Iran’s Araghchi blames Israel after Davos speech scrapped over deadly crackdown
Iran’s foreign minister hits out at the World Economic Forum in Davos for canceling his appearance over a crackdown on recent protests, saying the decision was based on “lies and political pressure.”
Protests in Iran sparked by economic strain in late December exploded into the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violent crackdown yet to emerge due to an internet blackout.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was slated to speak today at the annual gathering of global elites in Switzerland, but was disinvited after the WEF said it would not be “right” due to the “loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks.”
Araghchi says his appearance was canceled “on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its US-based proxies and apologists,” in an X post.
He calls it a “blatant double standard” to disinvite him while inviting Israel after its war in Gaza, saying it “conveys moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy.”
Araghchi’s post on X is accompanied by a video saying the demonstrations were a “terror operation” spurred by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Rights groups say they have verified at least several thousand protesters killed by Iranian security forces, with some estimates putting the true figure as high as 20,000 dead.
The Times of Israel Community.