World Economic Forum invites Iranian foreign minister to Davos after regime slaughter of Iranian civilians

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World Economic Forum invites Iranian foreign minister to Davos after regime slaughter of Iranian civilians

United Against Nuclear Iran says WEF ignored letter urging exclusion of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi

Anders Hagstrom Fox News

Published

January 18, 2026 12:04pm EST

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The World Economic Forum is facing calls to freeze out members of the Iranian regime from an upcoming summit in Davos this week.

The Iran watchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran sent a letter to WEF President Borge Brende on Friday urging the group not to invite any officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The group tells Fox News Digital that WEF did not respond to the letter, and instead the forum added an interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to the summit's schedule on Sunday.

WEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

UANI CEO Mark Wallace, who previously served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, cited human rights group reports regarding the mass slaughter of Iranian civilians by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's regime.

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Schwab speaks at annual WEF meeting in Davos

World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab speaks at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)

"Just this month, the Iranian regime has carried out what some believe to be the largest massacre in its history," Wallace wrote to Brende. "Araghchi is a member of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), which reportedly issued an order to use live fire on Iranian civilians protesting. Estimates suggest the regime killed at least 12,000 and up to 20,000 Iranians over the course of a few days in January as they exercised their fundamental rights to demonstrate against the Ayatollah and his tyranny."

"Hosting Iranian regime officials, such as Araghchi, who whitewash this record is deeply offensive and would be wholly inappropriate to platform at a Forum whose theme this year is 'A Spirit of Dialogue.' Instead of dialogue, the Islamic Republic offered bullets to these brave Iranians," Wallace continued.

People gather during protest against the Iranian regime on Jan. 8, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Anonymous/Getty Images)

Iran’s supreme leader publicly acknowledged for the first time Saturday that thousands of people were killed during recent anti-government protests, according to reporting from the BBC.

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Khamenei made the remarks during a public address Saturday, blaming the U.S. for the unrest and violence and saying some protesters died "in an inhuman, savage manner."

Protestors burn images of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally held in Solidarity with Iran's Uprising, organised by The national Council of Resistance of Iran, on Whitehall in central London Jan. 11, 2026. (Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll and other estimates have been higher.

Videos authenticated by BBC Persian and BBC Verify show Iranian security forces firing on demonstrators during the unrest.

Trump told Politico on Saturday that "it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran," after being read a series of hostile posts from Khamenei’s X account accusing the president of responsibility for the violence.

Iran protests death toll spiked in recent days as human rights groups say thousands of people have been killed. (MAHSA / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images))

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"What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before," Trump said, according to Politico. "Leadership is about respect, not fear and death."

Read Wallace's full letter to the WEF below (App users click here)

Fox News' Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.

World Economic Forum invites Iranian foreign minister to Davos after regime slaughter of Iranian civilians