The Swedish Security Service, commonly referred to as Säpo, said on Thursday that the Iranian government used criminal networks in Sweden as proxies to threaten the security of groups in Sweden and other states Iran perceives as threats. Säpo said that Iran is one of Sweden’s greatest security threats.

According to Säpo, Iran committed acts of violence against Sweden for several years by targeting opposition groups in Sweden’s Iranian diaspora. Säpo stated that Iran engaged in security-threatening activities in Sweden to threaten the interests of other states by damaging their ties with Sweden. Säpo said that some of the activities may have been aimed at damaging Israeli and Jewish interests in Sweden.

Säpo said that it will, along with the police, continue to implement measures to prevent Iran from engaging in activities that threaten security and interests in Sweden.

Tensions between Sweden and Iran have been high. On March 6, the Swedish Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict and life sentence of Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian official who was convicted for his involvement in a mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. In December 2023, an Iranian spokesperson called the verdict against Nouri “illegal” and “cruel” and said that Iran would seek Nouri’s release. Additionally, an Iranian court commenced proceedings against Johan Floderus, a Swedish EU employee arrested in 2022. Iran charged Floderus with spying for Israel and “corruption on earth,” a crime that carries the death penalty.