Another Swedish citizen arrested in Iran on espionage accusations

Iran's intelligence ministry announced the arrest of another Swedish citizen on espionage charges on Saturday. These allegations come after Sweden announced the sentencing of a former Iranian official for war crimes.

The latest Swede arrested was accused of proxy spying on behalf of Israel. Iran cited evidence that the individual had traveled to Israel and was in touch with figures in Iran.

"In all the previous trips, the suspect ... communicated with a number of European and non-European suspects who were under surveillance in Iran," noted the Iranian intelligence ministry.

Sweden's Foreign Ministry has acknowledged that it is aware of the situation but has not released a statement.

Last month, Sweden sentenced the Iranian war criminal Hamid Noury to life in prison for the mass execution and torture of political prisoners during the Iran and Iraq war in the 1980s. Stockholm District Court accused Noury of a "serious crime against international law."

About 100 people gathered outside the Stockholm court to protest against the Tehran government.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani stated, "Iran is absolutely certain that Noury's sentence was politically motivated and it has no legal validity."

Noury's lawyer, Daniel Marcus, announced plans to appeal the verdict. "We are obviously disappointed that our client has been convicted. We will now analyse and review the details found in the court's judgement together with our client," stated Marcus.

In retaliation, Iran pulled its ambassador from Sweden. Since then, relations between Sweden and Iran have been tense.

In May, Iran arrested the first Swedish citizen. Following the arrest made by Iran, Sweden advised against unnecessary travel to the country. The Foreign Ministry in Sweden stated, "We are aware that a Swedish citizen, a man in his 30s, has recently been detained in Iran. The embassy in Tehran is seeking information on the case and is in contact with local authorities."

In 2016 a Swedish-Iranian researcher, Ahmadreza Djalali, was arrested in Iran and later charged with spying. While Djalali was sentenced to death, a date has not been set. Iran has also arrested several other Europeans, including two French citizens and a Polish citizen.