A Swedish national who works for the European Union's diplomatic corps has been detained in Iran for over 500 days, according to reports from The New York Times. The Swedish citizen, identified as Johan Floderus, was arrested in April 2022 while trying to leave Iran after a tourist trip. The arrest has been kept under wraps by Swedish and European Union authorities. This case is part of what is known as Iran's "hostage diplomacy," in which the country detains foreign nationals as bargaining chips for concessions from the West.

The European Union and Sweden are calling for Floderus's immediate release. Iran has not yet responded to the reports. This incident further exacerbates the already tense relations between Iran and Sweden, which have been strained since 2019 when Sweden arrested a former Iranian official for his involvement in mass executions and torture of political prisoners in the 1980s.