TEHRAN, Iran – Iran has detained two European nationals for allegedly “fomenting unrest and societal disturbance,” but has not revealed their nationalities.
The Intelligence Ministry stated in a statement on Wednesday that the detainees were dispatched by “foreign conspirators” to carry out destabilising actions in the country.
The two individuals arrested, it added, had “expertise in causing disturbances and instability” and had previously “trained local agents” in various countries, without providing any other specifics.
The government stated that it will soon release audio and video documents relating to the two persons’ activity.
The news comes amid rising tensions between Iran and other European nations, including Sweden and Belgium, over the detention and imprisonment of Iranian diplomats, which prompted Sweden to issue a warning recently.
Last month, a Stockholm court affirmed the sentence of Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian judiciary officer convicted of complicity in the 1988 death of political dissidents.
Nouri, who has been behind bars since 2019, is facing a life sentence.
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Iran has harshly condemned the conviction and demanded Nouri’s immediate release, but the Swedish government argues that it has no power to influence court decisions in the nation.
Last Monday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian addressed his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde, “The Islamic Republic of Iran deems the imprisonment and trial of Hamid Nouri, an Iranian citizen, unconstitutional and demands his immediate release.”
Last week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador to Tehran, claiming that Nouri’s imprisonment was “politically motivated” and that the allegations against him were “baseless and manufactured.”
Also see: Iran accuses the US government of causing a situation in Ukraine.
Nouri’s prosecution in Sweden has coincided with the trial of Ahmad-Reza Jalali, an Iranian-Swedish national accused of espionage for Israel, in Iran.
According to sources, Iran’s supreme court just upheld his death sentence, and he will most certainly be hanged on May 21.
In the interim, Swedish media reported on the recent arrest of a Swedish person in Iran.
Last Monday, the Aftonbladet newspaper reported that the man was part of a group of tourists. Iranian officials have not responded.
Experts predict that if Nouri is given a life sentence and Jalali is executed as planned, tensions between Iran and Sweden would grow.
