US Senator Graham criticizes Davos invite to Iran foreign minister

Protesters held in Iranian prisons have described abuse, including forced nudity, exposure to cold, and injections with substances of unknown composition while in custody, a source close to a detainee’s family told Iran International.

The source said a detained young protester sent a message from inside prison saying he and several others had been subjected to such treatment after their arrest.

According to the detainee, prison officers stripped detainees naked in the courtyard of the detention facility and kept them outside the building for a prolonged period in winter conditions. The officers then sprayed the detainees with cold water using a hose, the source said.

The detainee also said that the following day, prison officers injected him and several other prisoners with substances whose contents were not identified.

Several Iranian state television channels carried on the Badr satellite were hacked on Sunday, broadcasting footage of protests along with calls by Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi for people to join demonstrations and for military forces to side with protesters.

Iran’s state broadcaster relies on the Badr satellite to transmit a number of its provincial television channels nationwide.

The US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has urged the World Economic Forum (WEF) to rescind an invitation to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi after the forum listed him as a speaker at its annual meeting in Davos.

According to the WEF website, Araghchi is scheduled to take part in a session titled “How can we cooperate in a more contested world?” on Jan. 20, moderated by Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at UANI, said in a post on X that the group had sent a letter to WEF organizers regarding Araghchi’s participation.

“The message WEF is sending is that you can shoot Iranians in the eyes and genitals, murder thousands of them, and shut off the internet for your people, but still be welcomed in Davos that same month,” Brodsky wrote.

Brodsky also shared a copy of the letter that UANI CEO Mark D. Wallace wrote to World Economic Forum President and CEO Børge Brende.

In the letter, Wallace wrote that UANI was seeking confirmation on whether Araghchi or any other Iranian official had been invited to Davos, and urged the forum to withdraw any such invitation.

This comes as Swiss officials say their long-standing intermediary role between Washington and Tehran will be active during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“We are in principle the communication channel between Washington and Tehran,” Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, head of the Middle East and North Africa division at Switzerland’s foreign ministry, said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF.

“The communication channels are open in both directions,” she said, adding that Switzerland was available to mediate under its US protecting power mandate.

Asked whether Switzerland’s role would come into play in Davos, Monika Schmutz Kirgöz confirmed that it would.

“We have the World Economic Forum next week. US President Trump will be there. And we also have a high-ranking Iranian delegation attending the WEF in Davos,” she added.

Mona Hosseini, a 54-year-old radiology specialist, was killed by pellet fire from security forces in the Malek Shahr district of the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Jan. 8, an informed source told Iran International.

Hosseini was struck while assisting her daughter with moving household belongings ahead of her wedding, the source said.

Pellets hit Hosseini in the face and also struck the hands of her daughter and son-in-law. All three were taken to Gharazi Hospital in Isfahan, but Hosseini died minutes after being admitted to the emergency ward, the source said.

While being transferred to hospital, Hosseini reported experiencing severe burning sensations in her body and face, the source said.

Authorities later proposed that the family declare her as a “martyr” and bury her in the martyrs’ section of Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery, but her husband rejected the proposal, the source said.

An Iranian protester was killed by live ammunition in the central Iranian city of Shahin Shahr earlier this month, according to information received by Iran International.

The man, identified as Davoud Jalili, was shot dead on Jan. 9.

His body was handed over to his family a week later after they were required to sign a written undertaking. Jalili was buried on Jan. 16 in Shahin Shahr.