Iranian ambassador refused invite to Stockholm Nobel Prize banquet
The organisers of the Nobel Prize ceremony on Friday declared Iran's ambassador was not welcome at the glittering event in December, just days after issuing a similar snub to Russia and Belarus.
"Given the serious and escalating situation... Iran's ambassador should not be invited to the Nobel Prize award ceremony", the Nobel Foundation said in a statement, referring to Tehran's brutal crackdown on widespread protests.
"For several decades, the Nobel Foundation's starting point has been to invite all countries with diplomatic representation in Sweden (to)... celebrate the laureates' contributions to science, literature and peace."
However, earlier this week it announced that the envoys for Russia and Belarus would not be invited due to the war in Ukraine, nor would the leader of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party.
The foundation said it had "decided to follow the Swedish and European diplomatic policy of not inviting Russia and Belarus because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
"Although Sweden and other European countries do not yet have any corresponding diplomatic policy regarding Iran, the issue is still evolving and we believe that... Iran's ambassador should not be invited".
The glitzy bash is held each year in Stockholm on December 10 when laureates in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics receive their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf, followed by a gala banquet for around 1,200 guests.
A separate ceremony is held in Oslo on the same day for the Peace Prize laureate.
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"Given the serious and escalating situation... Iran's ambassador should not be invited to the Nobel Prize award ceremony", the Nobel Foundation said in a statement, referring to Tehran's brutal crackdown on widespread protests.
"For several decades, the Nobel Foundation's starting point has been to invite all countries with diplomatic representation in Sweden (to)... celebrate the laureates' contributions to science, literature and peace."
However, earlier this week it announced that the envoys for Russia and Belarus would not be invited due to the war in Ukraine, nor would the leader of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party.
The foundation said it had "decided to follow the Swedish and European diplomatic policy of not inviting Russia and Belarus because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
"Although Sweden and other European countries do not yet have any corresponding diplomatic policy regarding Iran, the issue is still evolving and we believe that... Iran's ambassador should not be invited".
The glitzy bash is held each year in Stockholm on December 10 when laureates in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics receive their awards from King Carl XVI Gustaf, followed by a gala banquet for around 1,200 guests.
A separate ceremony is held in Oslo on the same day for the Peace Prize laureate.
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