- January 25, 2026
- 4:07 pm
- World News
Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2026 unexpectedly became one of the most discussed topics among the Iranian opposition and diaspora. The reason was not the overall tone of the speech, but a specific thought, formulated extremely harshly: if a regime that suppresses protests with blood survives and remains unpunished, it sends a signal to the whole world — that mass violence works as a way to retain power.
For millions of Iranians who perceive their situation as a struggle against tyranny, these words sounded not like diplomacy, but like a direct acknowledgment of their experience. In messages and comments, one emotion was repeated: “finally, someone said it out loud on a big international stage.”
Why Davos became a trigger
Davos is traditionally perceived as a platform where leaders often speak cautiously and vaguely. Therefore, Zelensky’s sharpness was noted separately. He stated that the world has not done enough to help the Iranian people, and the protests in the country were effectively suppressed by force and fear.
In Iranian social networks, this was read as a rare example of the Western public stage speaking about Iran not only in the language of sanctions and negotiations but in the language of moral responsibility — and this caused a wave of reposts, retellings, and translations.
How the opposition linked Iran and the war in Ukraine
The second reason for the resonance is the logic understandable to Iranians: “internal violence turns into external aggression.” In discussions, the connection often sounded: a regime that oppresses its own citizens simultaneously exports war abroad — and in the Ukrainian sky, this is expressed in the most direct way.
Therefore, Ukraine in these reactions appears not as a “foreign country,” but as an ally in a broader conflict with an authoritarian system. And Zelensky, according to many commentators, speaks about what European politicians too often remain silent or speak in half-tones.
“The voice of Iranians in Europe”: what exactly was written
In the Iranian segment of social networks, several recurring motifs stood out.
The first is gratitude for straightforwardness. Zelensky was called a person who does not try to smooth over the topic of repression for the sake of diplomatic comfort.
The second is the recognition of a common threat. Russia and the Iranian leadership in these discussions were often put in the same row as different parts of one authoritarian mechanism.
The third is symbolic gestures. Proposals to immortalize Zelensky ranged from absurdly emotional initiatives to quite serious calls to publicly express support for Ukraine as a country that “holds the line” and does not hide the meaning behind formulations.
The role of opinion leaders and the “amplifier” effect
A separate surge of attention was given by the reaction of Masih Alinejad — a well-known journalist and activist who has long been leading a public campaign against the regime and has repeatedly become the object of persecution. She thanked Zelensky for standing “on the right side of history” and emphasized: mass killings and repressions in Iran should be discussed at such forums not on the periphery, but in the center.
For the opposition audience, this became a signal: the topic is not local, not “internal,” not shamefully postponed — it is brought to the international level.
Why Tehran responded harshly
It is telling that official Iran reacted irritably. In such situations, the authorities usually try not to amplify attention to criticism, but here the criticism was too broad and too public. Zelensky essentially put the question of the regime’s survival in a moral-political framework: if the dictatorship survived after bloodshed — then the world swallowed it.
This is exactly what became the nerve point. Because in such logic, the regime is perceived not as a “negotiation partner,” but as a system that cannot be allowed to win with time and the world’s fatigue.
Why this story is important for Israel
For the Israeli audience, there is a separate meaning here. Iran is a central regional threat and simultaneously a source of military technology that has become part of the war against Ukraine. When the Ukrainian president raises the topic of Iranian repressions on a global platform, it affects not only the Ukrainian agenda — it reflects on the entire system of international conversation about Iran.
Zelensky’s Davos speech became not just a performance. It turned into a point of intersection of two realities: the war in Europe and the struggle against the regime in the Middle East. And it is precisely such intersections that NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency fix, because in 2026, security and politics have long ceased to live in separate “regional” blocks.
