News24 | Iran and Sweden expel each other’s diplomats as tensions escalate over security

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the Iranian diplomat had been expelled over “activities not in accordance with the Vienna Convention”.

Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images

• Iran gave a Swedish diplomat 48 hours to leave Tehran in retaliation for Sweden expelling an Iranian embassy staff member from Stockholm over security threats.
• Sweden accused Iran of conducting activities targeting regime opponents and Jewish and Israeli interests in the country, while Iran dismissed the claims as baseless.
• Diplomatic tensions between the two nations have been strained for years, marked by Iran’s execution of a Swedish-Iranian citizen for spying for Israel and the imprisonment of another for collaboration with Mossad.

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”.

READ | Sweden says Iran is using Swedish gangs, and children, to target Israel

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.

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.

Iran does not recognise dual citizenship.

A demonstration supporting the Swedish-Iranian doctor and researcher Ahmadreza Djalali, who is imprisoned and sentenced to death in Iran, was held in Stockholm, Sweden on 14 May 2022.

Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

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.

Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, several Israeli interests in Sweden have been targeted, according to the Swedish government.