Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi tweeted today about the decision to remove Iran from this year's World Economic Forum. The decision was made as a protest against the killing of demonstrators by the regime forces.
"WEF cancelled my appearance in Davos on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its U.S.-based proxies and apologists. There is one fundamental truth to the recent violence in Iran: We had to defend our people against armed terrorists and ISIS-style killings openly backed by Mossad," Araghchi wrote after the ban was announced.
"The sad irony: Israel's genocide of Palestinians and mass slaughter of 71,000 innocent people have not compelled WEF to cancel any invitation extended to Israeli officials whatsoever. In fact, Herzog even did a victory lap in Davos as early as January 2024, even as he faced criminal charges in Switzerland for the unfolding Genocide in Gaza. If WEF wants to feign a supposedly "moral" stance, that is its prerogative. But it should at least be consistent about it. The current blatant double standard only conveys moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy."
"People have the right to know the truth and judge for themselves. Shame is solely reserved for those who think otherwise," he concluded. The tweet came with a video claiming to show the link between Israel and ISIS and the Iranian demonstrators, as well as graphic videos of the bodies of some of the demonstrators.
Israeli President Herzog's office responded: "The same murderous Iranian regime massacring its own people day after day, executing innocent women and men for daring to call for their freedom, and spreading terror and death across the Middle East is in no position to lecture others on 'morality.'"
"International condemnation of the Iranian regime is not the result of political pressure, but of a simple and undeniable truth: the Iranian regime is the head of the snake that arms, funds, and directs Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist proxies committing crimes against humanity," the President's office accused.
"While President Herzog represents a democracy that defends its citizens and the free world against murderous terrorism, Iran’s foreign minister represents a brutal and tyrannical regime that attempts to mask its heinous crimes with hollow rhetoric."