Iran said Monday that neither its President Masoud Pezeshkian nor foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will attend the Gaza summit in Egypt after confirming an invitation from the host country.
State news agency IRNA reported that Egypt had invited Iran on Sunday evening to take part in Monday’s summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
But early Monday, Araghchi posted on X: “Neither President Pezeshkian nor I can engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian People and continue to threaten and sanction us,” in reference to the United States.
Washington briefly joined Israel in attacks that targeted Iran’s nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June.
The minister said Tehran nonetheless supported any initiative “to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza” and to defend Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Iran does not recognise Israel and has made the support of the Palestinian cause a pillar of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the US-backed shah of Iran.
The Gaza peace summit, co-chaired by US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, aims to consolidate a ceasefire and outline a post-war political framework.
Leaders from more than 20 nations are expected to attend, though neither Israel nor Hamas will take part.
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