Swedish Diplomat in Hot Water: Iran Begins Trial on Espionage Charges
Swedish diplomat Johan Floderus stands trial in Iran on charges of espionage and corruption, accused of gathering intel on Iran's nuclear programs and collaborating with Israel. Calls for his release grow amid tense diplomatic relations.
Iran has commenced the trial of Swedish diplomat Johan Floderus on charges of espionage, corruption, and working against the security of the country. Floderus, who was arrested in April 2022 while on vacation in Iran, is accused of gathering intelligence on Iran's nuclear programs and collaborating with Israel. Prosecutors claim that he was also setting up a network of Swedish intelligence agents in Iran and had connections with the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq. Floderus' family, friends, as well as Swedish and EU authorities, are demanding his release.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has called on Iran to free Floderus and stated that there are no grounds for his detention. The trial comes at a time when diplomatic relations between Sweden and Iran are strained, following Sweden's detention of former Iranian official Hamid Nouri, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for his involvement in the mass execution of political dissidents in Iran in 1988.