Sweden says Iran detained Swedish citizen last year to lift sanctions

Sweden says a 30-year-old Swedish national has been held in Iran since last year.

This is reported by abc NEWS.

The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the man was detained in Iran in April 2022 but declined to give details.

"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sweden in Tehran are working very intensively on the case and are maintaining close contact with the EU," the ministry said.

The New York Times claims that it was Johan Floderus who worked for the EU diplomatic corps.

The newspaper noted that Floderus held several positions in the European Union’s institutions, including the European External Action Service.

European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano declined to name him, but confirmed that the Commission was aware of the case and was working with Sweden on it.

In July 2022, the Iranian government released a statement announcing that it had apprehended a Swedish national for espionage. The agency said the suspect had been detained before he left Iran after several visits.