Iran’s judiciary said on Tuesday that a dual national arrested during the recent 12-day war with Israel and who has since been put on trial for espionage holds Swedish citizenship.
Tehran has given few details on the case, one of multiple arrests that took place during and after the brief war in which Israel and then the United States bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Several of those convicted of working for Israel’s Mossad spy agency were subsequently executed.
“Recently, a case was investigated in Alborz Province regarding a dual-citizen spy. This person received Swedish citizenship in 2020 and has resided there since,” said judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir, according to the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency.
“This person was identified and arrested on charges of spying for the Zionist regime during the 12-Day War”, he added.
“This person 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,” Jahangir said without naming the defendant.
He added that the defendant had made several trips to Israel and the last time was two weeks before entering Iran.
Jahangir said the defendant entered Iran a month before the war and had settled in a villa near Karaj, close to the capital Tehran.
“He was carrying electronic spy equipment that was identified by the officers,” the spokesperson noted, adding that “the accused has confessed to spying” for Israel.
He stated that the verdict in the case would be issued soon.
– Toughened penalties –
On June 13, Tehran’s arch foe, Israel, launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, striking military and nuclear sites, as well as residential areas.
That attack triggered a 12-day conflict in which Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel, and later saw the United States join Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites.
During the war, Iranian authorities announced several arrests of Europeans, including Lennart Monterlos, a 19-year-old French-German cyclist, who was later released.
Several Europeans are detained in Iran including French couple Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who have been held since May 2022.
In June 2024, Iran freed two Swedes in a prisoner swap for former Iranian official Hamid Noury, who was serving a life sentence in Sweden.
In October, Iran passed a law that toughened penalties for those convicted of spying on behalf of Israel and the US.
The text of the law stipulates that “any intelligence or espionage activity” for Israel, the US or other governments and groups deemed hostile to Iran “shall be punishable by confiscation of all assets… and by the death penalty”.
Since the war, Iran has vowed swift trials for those suspected of collaborating with Israel, announcing multiple arrests and the execution of at least nine people convicted on such charges.
The June war derailed high-level diplomacy between Tehran and Washington aimed at reaching a new deal over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The war was the first sustained conflict between Iran and Israel after sporadic tit-for-tat attacks in 2024 that stopped short of open warfare.
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel took effect on June 24.
Add Comment