Iran on Thursday gave a Swedish diplomat in Tehran 48 hours to leave the country, after Sweden had expelled a staff member from the Iranian embassy in Stockholm.
The Swedish ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran to protest against the Swedish decision, which was “unjustified and contrary to international law”, Iran’s foreign ministry said, in a statement broadcast by state television. Swedish authorities had on Wednesday accused Iran of having long “conducted activities that threaten security in and against Sweden, targeting both individuals who oppose the Iranian regime and various Jewish and Israeli interests in our country”. Iran called the accusations “baseless” on Thursday. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the Iranian diplomat had been expelled over “activities not in accordance with the Vienna Convention”, which outlines practices for diplomatic missions and their staff. Calling Tehran’s reaction “very regrettable”, she added that the Swedish staffer “was carrying out ordinary diplomatic activities in Iran”.
Sweden has a large Iranian community, including government opponents living in exile. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been tense for several years. In March, Iran executed an Iranian-Swedish citizen on charges of spying for Israel, the Islamic Republic’s sworn enemy. Iran does not recognise dual citizenship.
Another Swedish-Iranian, Ahmadreza Djalali, has been imprisoned in Iran for more than 10 years. He was convicted in 2017 of collaborating with Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, several Israeli interests in Sweden have been targeted, according to the Swedish government. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Swedish Security Service has previously accused Iran of recruiting criminal gang members to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden — a claim Iran has denied.
