The Nobel Foundation has revoked its invitations to representatives from Russia, Belarus, and Iran to attend the upcoming Nobel Prize award ceremonies. The decision came after the initial invitation sparked strong reactions, including threats of boycott by Swedish lawmakers. The Nobel Foundation’s change of position, inviting representatives from these countries, had drawn criticism due to concerns over issues like Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and human rights violations in Iran.

Several Swedish lawmakers had announced their intention to boycott this year’s Nobel Prize award ceremonies in Stockholm in response to the controversial invitations. Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had also urged the Nobel Foundation and the Norwegian Nobel Committee not to invite representatives of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

In response to the outcry, the Nobel Foundation withdrew the invitations for the Stockholm ceremony but will continue its tradition of inviting all ambassadors to the ceremony held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented. The decision to withdraw the invitations was met with widespread support in Sweden, with even the Swedish Royal House expressing positivity. The Nobel laureates for this year will be announced in early October, with award ceremonies scheduled for December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.