U.S. Organization Condemns Davos for Giving Platform to Zarif

The American organization "United Against Nuclear Iran" condemned the World Economic Forum's decision to allow Mohammad Javad Zarif, the strategic affairs deputy of the 14th government of the Islamic Republic, to speak at Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, January 22. Mark Wallace, the executive director of United Against Nuclear Iran, stated that last week the organization sent a letter to Klaus Schwab and Borge Brende, senior executives of the World Economic Forum, asking them not to invite Iranian government officials. In his statement, which was sent to VOA on Monday, Wallace wrote, "United Against Nuclear Iran condemns the World Economic Forum's decision to give another global platform to Mohammad Javad Zarif." He said, "Zarif, who has acted as the main propagandist for the aggressive and terrorist actions of the Islamic Republic, is under U.S. sanctions. He has long collaborated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, to cover up gross human rights violations, support for terrorism, and the export of violence by the Islamic Republic." Wallace further stated, "Zarif's presence at the World Economic Forum (in Davos, Switzerland) is particularly regrettable as it comes just days after the suspicious death of a Swiss citizen in the prisons of [the Islamic Republic] Iran." He emphasized that "this tragedy once again shows the regime's [Islamic Republic] indifference to human life. By giving a platform to Zarif immediately after this ambiguous death, the organizers send the message [to the Islamic Republic] that the regime's shocking behaviors can be overlooked with superficial and low-level dialogue." Wallace noted that "the partners of the World Economic Forum, which include prominent international companies with extensive business interests in the United States, are exposed to this reputational risk by associating with Zarif, who is an advocate of torture and the massacre of October 7." The statement, referencing this year's World Economic Forum theme of "Cooperation for a Smart Era," states that inviting Zarif "conveys exactly the opposite message," as according to Wallace, Mohammad Javad Zarif "represents a regime that relies on division and medieval repression." Mohammad Sadegh Akbari, the head of the Semnan Judiciary, announced on January 10 that a Swiss citizen had "committed suicide" in prison. The Islamic Republic claimed he was imprisoned on charges of "espionage." In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has detained dozens of foreign and dual-national citizens, primarily on espionage and security charges. Many experts say the Islamic Republic uses the detention of foreign and dual-national citizens based on false accusations to bargain in foreign relations. Criticism from an Iranian-American journalist imprisoned for the "ineffective action" of the Biden administration. Olivier Grondin, a French hostage of the Islamic Republic: I am innocent. Claims from a source in the silence of officials: The detention of the Swiss national was due to sampling soil from the desert. France summoned the Islamic Republic's ambassador; protesting against the regime's "hostage-taking."