Sweden expels Iran embassy employee, citing security concerns

Sweden has expelled an Iranian embassy employee and summoned the country’s ambassador, accusing Tehran of making threats against Jewish and Israeli interests in Sweden.

Sweden has asked an official at the Iranian embassy in Stockholm to leave the country over activities “not compatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”, which sets rules for how countries deal with each other’s diplomats.

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the decision was taken to protect Swedish citizens and interests, without providing further details.

The country’s Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer later told state broadcaster SVT that the decision involved Iran’s alleged activities against “Jewish and Israeli interests”.

“We know that Iran, over a long period of time, has 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,” Strommer said, adding that Iran was “making use of criminal networks” to achieve its objectives.

“We can confirm that Iran continues to engage in activities that pose security threats in and against Sweden. This includes, among other things, attempts to use proxies, such as criminal networks, to carry out attacks or acts of violence,” Jonathan Svensson, spokesman for the Swedish Security Service, told AFP.

In 2024, the service accused Iran of recruiting criminal gang members to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden.

Iran has denied the accusation.

In another incident in 2023, Sweden accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of hacking into a local SMS operator to send 15,000 text messages calling for retaliation after the Quran, Islam’s holy book, was burned during protests.