Iranian President Rouhani at Davos

At the Wall Street Journal, "Mideast Turmoil Dominates Gathering of Business Elite: Iranian, Israeli and American Leaders Strategize on Multiplying Crises, Lay Out Competing Visions for Region" (via Google):

Iran has executed over 40 people since beginning of 2014. Not a word during Rouhani's "charm offensive" in #Davos. pic.twitter.com/lqXn1okYRW

— Julie (@MsIntervention) January 24, 2014

DAVOS, Switzerland—The turmoil of the Middle East descended on this Swiss Alpine town, where Iranian, Israeli and American leaders laid out often competing visions of the region's future during a conference for the world's business elite.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem were among leaders and diplomats who huddled in hotel rooms, strategizing ways to address the Mideast's multiplying crises, American and Arab officials said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bristled at a speech by Mr. Rouhani, which was well received by many others. The Israeli leader said that nothing Mr. Rouhani said was backed up by actual changes in Iranian policy.

The Israeli and Iranian leaders interspersed their diplomatic efforts with pitches to energy and high-tech executives for investments in their countries.

Many top diplomats from Arab and Western countries traveled Thursday by helicopter or road to the World Economic Forum in Davos from the shores of Switzerland's Lake Geneva, where talks aimed at ending Syria's civil war got under way this week.

The fixation on the Mideast in the midst of Switzerland's snow-capped peaks showed how far world leaders—and the U.S., in particular—still remain from turning the page on the region's crises, said American and European officials. Leaders argued that if more isn't done to stop the killing in Syria and to brace Egypt and Yemen, the West could find itself drawn in even further.

Mr. Kerry is scheduled to deliver an address Friday in Davos. He is also set to have a long meeting with Mr. Netanyahu.

A senior State Department official said Mr. Kerry would address key U.S. efforts around the Middle East, including Iran, Syria and peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr. Kerry also will seek to dispel "the myth of disengagement," the official said, "particularly the notion that the U.S. is pulling back from the Middle East."

Mr. Rouhani attracted great interest at the forum. He made his first appearance at Davos on a long, wide staircase leading to the main conference hall. Flanked by handlers and wearing a cream-colored robe and a turban, he descended the stairs as a hush fell over the lobby. Many attendees shot photos with their smartphones, as the entourage quickly swept into the auditorium.

The 65-year-old politician and cleric was the first Iranian president to address the annual conference in more than a decade. Many businessmen and diplomats awaited his message of reconciliation.

He portrayed himself as a pragmatic leader ready to open up Iran's economy and to practice a less confrontational foreign policy than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr. Rouhani said he believed Iran's confrontation with the West over its nuclear program would quickly be resolved, paving the way for Tehran to re-engage with Europe and the West.

Earlier this week, Iran implemented an interim agreement with world powers that capped parts of its nuclear program in return for an easing of Western economic sanctions.

Mr. Rouhani said he expected this pact to be just the beginning of steps to improve ties with the international community, including Washington.

"What we have achieved is not merely a temporary agreement on a specific issue, but a prelude to future agreements and engagements," he told a packed amphitheater. "There are many common interests."

Also at LAT, "Rouhani shopping a new Iran at Davos in Charm Offensive Part II," and NYT, "U.S. and Iran Offer Clashing Accounts of the Civil War in Syria."