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 Iran |  Sweden |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Iran, Stockholm | Embassy of Sweden, Tehran |
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Iran–Sweden relations are foreign relations between theIslamic Republic of Iran and theKingdom of Sweden. Iran has an embassy inStockholm. Sweden has an embassy inTehran. Both nations are members of theUnited Nations.
Ludvig Fabritius led three missions to Safavid Persia, in 1679–80, 1683–84, and 1697–1700, to theSafavid court during the reign ofCharles XI of Sweden (r. 1660–1697) andCharles XII of Sweden (r. 1697–1718); andSuleiman of Persia (26 October 1666 – 29 July 1694 ),Sultan Husayn (29 July 1694 – 11 September 1722).[1][2]
In 1911, theSwedish government was asked by the Persians if soldiers could be sent toQajar Persia to organize the construction of agendarmerie. In the same year, the first Swedish officers came to the country. This became theIranian Gendarmerie, commanded by Swedish officers between 1911 and 1921. The first Swedish officers traveled to Persia in 1911, and during the period 1911-1916, a total of about sixty Swedes worked in the country. The police force was equipped by the Swedish police. WhenWorld War I broke out, the Swedes were accused of cooperating withGermany, which resulted in the officers and police having to leave Persia.[3]
Sweden andPahlavi Iran established diplomatic relations in connection with the conclusion of a treaty of friendship in 1929.[4] Iran operatesan embassy in Stockholm and Sweden operatesan embassy in Tehran.
In November 1934, Swedish Crown PrinceGustaf Adolf, Crown PrincessMargaret, PrincessIngrid and PrinceBertil visited Iran. At the border, they were received by a representative of the Persian government and in Tehran by the Foreign Minister and the Grand Master of the Ceremonies, as well as representatives of the government agencies. The Crown Prince's family went in a procession to the castle, where theShah and the Crown Prince represented the council president and others.Reza Shah then accompanied the Crown Prince to theGolestan Palace. After several days in the Persian capital, the Crown Prince left for theMazandaran Province to study for three days the ongoing construction work on theTrans-Iranian Railway. He then returned to Tehran to say goodbye to the Shah. The Crown Prince's family then left on 17 November inVolvo cars forIsfahan andPersepolis. In the latter place, the royals lived in the so-called Xerxes' harem and visited the city under the leadership of ProfessorErnst Herzfeld. An excursion was made toShiraz. On 25 November, the return journey toBaghdad began over the snowy passes along the Kum-Sultanabad-Kermanshah road.[5]
In April 2016,Ahmad Reza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish doctor and researcher indisaster medicine, was arrested and charged with spying on Iranian's nuclear program forIsrael, accusations he denied,[6][7] before being taken to theEvin Prison, where he reportedly faced repeated tortures and threats.[6] In October 2017, Djalali was convicted of "spreading corruption on earth" andsentenced to death:[6][7] multiple reports about the time of his execution have surfaced ever since.[8]
In 2021, tensions escalated between Iran and Sweden over thetrial of Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian official convicted in Sweden of committing grave war crimes and murder during theIran-Iraq War and the1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners.[9]
In May 2023,Habib Chaab, an Iranian-Swedish political activist, founder and former leader ofArab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, was executedby hanging in Iran, after being accused of masterminding a2018 attack on a military parade that killed 25 people.[9]
In September 2023, aNew York Times article revealed thatJohan Floderus, a 33-year-old Swedish man who had been working as a diplomat for theEuropean Union since 2019, had been arrested at theImam Khomeini International Airport while on holiday in Tehran in April 2022, being subsequently taken to the Evin Prison.[10][11][12] On 15 June 2024,Swedish Prime MinisterUlf Kristersson publicly announced that Floderus had been released from Iranian authorities, together with fellow Swedish prisonerSaeed Azizi, as part of aprisoner exchange deal that saw convictedwar criminalHamid Nouri return to Iran.[13][14]
In September 2024, Swedish authorities revealed that a cyber group called Anzu, operating under Iran'sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were responsible for hacking into a Swedish text messaging service in July 2023, taking over passwords, usernames and other tools, and sending thousands of messages calling Swedes "demons" and bearing instructions to exact vengeance upon Koran burners. Iran denied the accusation, though the investigation by theSwedish Prosecution Authority managed to identify the individual hackers responsible for the data breach. In a statement by Justice MinisterGunnar Stromme it was said that the goal was to destabilise Sweden or increase polarisation, and the security service warned that Iran is among those seeking to create division and bolster their own regimes.[15][16][17]
In February 2017, Swedish prime ministerStefan Löfven and minister of tradeAnn Linde, along with representatives from government agencies and companies, visited Iran and met with several Iranian ministers. Linde was criticized for wearing theIslamic veil during the trip, even though it is law and must even be worn in the embassy in Sweden.[18]
In the late 2010s and into 2020, a number of Swedish academic universities and institutions pursued partnerships and exchange programs with institutions in Iran, also after Swedish-Iranian researcherAhmad Reza Jalali was given the death penalty by Iranian authorities in October 2017.[19][20] These academic institutions were:[20]
The Chairman of the Swedish Parliament's Foreign Policy Commission said in 2008 that Iran has a right to civilian nuclear technology. He also supported diplomatic means to find a solution to the issue that was acceptable to both sides.[21] In 2007, Christofer Gyllenstierna, the Swedish Ambassador to Iran, claimed that because traders and businessmen ultimately make investment decisions in Sweden, economic sanctions would not affect Sweden's trade with Iran.[22] In February 2009,Greece,Cyprus,Spain,Austria and Sweden opposed a list of additional stricter sanctions proposed by theEU3 against the Islamic Republic.[23]
In July 2009, the Swedish Foreign MinisterCarl Bildt insisted that dialogue was the only solution to the Iranian nuclear situation, saying that theEuropean Parliament faced difficult choices when world powers restarted talks with Tehran to halt Iranian uranium enrichment in exchange for political and economic incentives.[24]
Christofer Gyllenstierna, Sweden's Ambassador to Iran, said at a symposium in Tehran in 2007 that Sweden has potential markets in Iran. He also said that Iran's capabilities and possibilities have attracted the attention of Swedish businesses. He claimed that Sweden planned on increasing mutual trade cooperation with Iran.[22] In 2003, Sweden and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), in which Sweden recommended thatIran be given membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In return, Iran would allow Sweden to implement industrial, mining, and telecommunication projects inside the country.[25] Since theUN Security Council and theEuropean Union (which Sweden is part of) began imposing stricter sanctions, however, Swedish–Iranian bilateral trade has declined. Bilateral trade between the two amounted to only $500 million in 2007.[26] Relations between Sweden and IRI have been shaky because of the arrest of Hamid Noury.[27]
On 31 March 2015, the firstfriendly football match was played between theSwedish national team and theIranian national team at theFriends Arena.[28]
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