Sweden summons the Iranian ambassador and expels an employee at his embassy due to activities targeting Israeli and Jewish interests

Sweden announced, on Wednesday, that it had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Stockholm and ordered an embassy employee to leave the country due to “activities inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” accusing Tehran of targeting Israeli and Jewish interests on its territory.

The authorities did not reveal the identity of the fired employee or the nature of the activities attributed to him.

Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Steinergaard confirmed that the decision to expel him was due to "activities inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," stressing that the step was taken "to protect Swedish citizens and other Swedish interests."

For his part, Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer said, in a statement seen by Agence France-Presse, that Iran “has been carrying out activities inside and against Sweden for a long time, targeting opponents of the Iranian regime as well as various Jewish and Israeli interests.” Strummer added that these activities are sometimes carried out through criminal networks, without going into further details.

A series of attacks on Israeli interests in Sweden

Swedish security services had previously warned that Iran was using intermediary criminal networks to carry out attacks, something Tehran denies. The spokesman for the Swedish Security Service (Sapo), Jonathan Svensson, said, “Iran continues to engage in activities that pose a security threat to Sweden, including attempts to use proxies, such as criminal networks, to carry out attacks or acts of violence.”

In recent years, Sweden has witnessed a series of incidents targeting Israeli interests. In June 2024, two explosive devices were found outside the offices of the Israeli military industries company Elbit Systems in Gothenburg.

In October of the same year, a 13-year-old boy opened fire at the entrance to one of the company's offices, before in April 2025 four teenagers were sentenced to prison for their involvement in recruiting him to carry out the attack.

May 2025 also witnessed a shooting outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, which prompted the authorities to strengthen security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.