Iran announced Tuesday that a dual national, who was arrested during the recent 12-day war with Israel and accused of spying for the “Zionist regime”, is a Swedish citizen, AFP reported.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said the individual “received Swedish citizenship in 2020 and has resided there since.” According to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency, Jahangir added that “this person was identified and arrested on charges of spying for the Zionist regime during the 12-Day War.”
Stockholm’s foreign ministry confirmed that one of its citizens is being held in Iran but declined to provide further details.
“Out of respect for consular secrecy and in order not to hinder our work, we will not provide any further details,” the ministry said, according to AFP. It added that both the Swedish foreign ministry and its embassy in Tehran are in contact with the detainee’s relatives and confirmed that the individual has legal representation.
Jahangir stated that the accused “was recruited by the Zionist regime’s services in 2023 and was able to meet in the capitals of six European countries with the (Israeli) agents and receive the necessary training.”
He said the defendant made several trips to Israel, including one two weeks before entering Iran, and arrived in the country a month before the outbreak of war, settling in a villa near Karaj, west of Tehran.
“He was carrying electronic spy equipment that was identified by the officers,” Jahangir said, noting that “the accused has confessed to spying” for Israel. He added that a verdict in the case would be issued soon.
Iran regularly accuses Israel of acts of sabotage on its soil, and regularly captures and executes individuals accused of spying for Israel.
In October, Iranian authorities announced the execution of an unnamed man convicted of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
Iranian officials claimed the suspect began communicating with Israeli intelligence in October 2023 and was arrested between January and February 2024. Investigators allege he confessed to cooperating with Mossad and transmitting classified information online.
In August, Iran executed Rouzbeh Vadi, who allegedly provided classified information to the Mossad. Iranian officials claimed Vadi supplied details regarding an Iranian nuclear scientist killed during Israeli airstrikes on Iran in June.
Last year, Iran said it executed a “terrorist” over a drone attack that targeted a defense ministry site in central Iran the year before and who was accused of operating as an officer of the Mossad.
A month prior, Iran claimed that it executed four people who allegedly spied for the Mossad. Iran claimed that the four had met Mossad chief David Barnea and trained in Africa, entering Iran through the Kurdish region in Iraq.